SBA Opens Application Portal for Restaurant Revitalization Grants

The American Rescue Plan Act, signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021, includes a $28.6 billion grant program under Section 5003, Support for Restaurants. You can find a detailed outline on the Restaurant Revitalization Fund in our previous alert.

On Friday, April 30 at 9:00 AM EST, the portal registration opens, signaling the start of the application process. There are two routes to applying, as described during a webinar produced by the Small Business Administration (“SBA”), which are as follows:

1. Complete portal registration (required prior to the application process) at restaurants.sba.gov which opens April 30, 2021 at 9:00 AM EST, and
2. Complete the application (which opens Monday, May 3, 2021 at 12:00 PM EST)

OR

1. Apply through SBA-recognized Point of Sale (“POS”) vendors. Participating POS providers include Square, Toast, Clover, NCR Corporation (Aloha). If an applicant is working with a POS vendor, they do not need to register beforehand on the application portal.
2. Complete the application (which opens Monday, May 3, 2021 at 12:00 PM EST)

There are some requirements and considerations to keep in mind as you prepare to apply:

• Companies can apply for $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location. Recipients are not required to repay the funding as long as funds are spent on eligible uses no later than March 11, 2023.
• All applicants will need to upload either a copy of their 2019 and 2020 Federal income tax returns or applicable POS reports. The applicant may instead provide a copy of an internal financial statement; however, that may delay the processing of the application.
• An eligible entity applying for a grant shall make a good faith certification about the uncertainty of current economic conditions. The applicant is not eligible if they have a pending application for, or have received, a grant under Section 324 of the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act (“Shuttered Venues Grant Program”).
• Applicants will also need to provide/upload the three most recent months of bank statements to confirm existence, history of business activity and account number.
• The application has been designed to be very interactive, along with hyperlinked instructions where appropriate. It will also link to any previously filed PPP loan in order to assist in the calculation of the grant.

Key members of our COVID-19 Resource Team continue to monitor ongoing updates to the PPP Program and other relief programs such as the Restaurant Revitalization Grant. To better understand how the changes impact your unique situation, please contact your Anchin Relationship Partner, or our Anchin COVID-19 Resource Team at [email protected].