Co-authored by David Harrison, Senior Accountant, CPA
The SBA has announced a start date for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (the Fund) application window. The Portal will be open for registration beginning Friday, April 30, 2021. Grant applications may be submitted beginning the following Monday, May 3, 2021. Please see our overview of many of the key features of this Fund HERE. Eligible entities include restaurants, bars, food stands, food trucks, caterers, bakeries, brewpubs, tasting rooms, taprooms, inns, taverns, and other similar places of business in which the public or patrons assemble for the primary purpose of being served food or alcohol.
The Fund has been allocated $28.6 billion. This certainly appears to be generous; however, the impact of COVID-19 on businesses in this industry likely exceeds this amount. Demand for the Fund is expected to be extremely high, with several commentators and Senators, including Senator Charles Schumer, expressing a political appetite to replenish the Fund if it runs out.
One key feature of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund is that it will prioritize certain businesses during an initial 21-day period. Businesses owned by minorities, women, or veterans will be processed during this priority period, with the remaining eligible businesses processed afterwards. It is still vital to apply as early as possible, whether your business qualifies for the priority period or not, because all applications will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. So, applying day one will ensure your spot early in the line after the priority period ends.
The SBA has established a separate web portal for applications, which can be found HERE. In addition, the SBA has provided specific program details on their website.
For additional guidance, please contact David Harrison (dharrison@vlcpa.com) or Victor Evans (vevans@vlcpa.com) via email or by phone at 800.887.0437.
