April 11, 2022 — On 7 April, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Relief for Restaurants and Other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act, which would allocate USD 42 billion (EUR 39 billion) for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) and USD 13 billion (EUR 12 billion) for other businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The funding bill will now be considered by the U.S. Senate.
Read the full story at SeafoodSource
January 7, 2022 — United States mayors and legislators are urging the government to replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), but it is looking increasingly unlikely.
A senior official with President Joe Biden’s administration said there will likely not be additional economic stimulus packages this year, but there may be some relief for restaurants, per The Washington Post.
Read the full story at SeafoodSource
December 8, 2021 — The U.S. restaurant industry is once again asking for more government funding as it faces the COVID-19 omicron variant, along with vaccine mandates and high labor and food costs.
More than 90,000 restaurants and bars have closed since the start of the pandemic, and more than 86 percent of restaurant and bar owners said they are concerned they will close without another round of grants via the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, the Independent Restaurant Coalition, an industry trade group, said in a press release.
September 10, 2021 — More than 82 percent of independent restaurant operators say they will likely permanently close if U.S. Congress does not quickly replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), according to a new survey.
Independent restaurant operators from across the country called on members of the U.S. House Small Business Committee to make restaurant relief a priority during a markup of the budget reconciliation package at an Independent Restaurant Coalition (IRC) press conference on 9 September.
Read the full story at SeafoodSource
July 27, 2021 — Through the past year-and-a-half, the U.S. government issued hundreds of billions of dollars in rescue funding for companies facing difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But its efforts have come under criticism from those who feel their businesses were unfairly excluded from the rescue programs and from entities that received less funding than their competitors.
In the latest round of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund passed by U.S. Congress and administered by the Small Business Administration, many large U.S. restaurant groups received grants of more than USD 1 million (EUR 845,000). New York City’s Momofuku Restaurant Group received USD 6.8 million (EUR 5.7 million) and Peter Luger Steakhouse took in USD 5 million (EUR 4.2 million). An analysis by The Counter, an independent and nonprofit news outlet, found 5 percent of RRF awardees received 40 percent of the program’s funding total.
July 14, 2021 — Many small independent restaurants were left out of the most recent round of United States government funding via the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, according to the Independent Restaurant Coalition. Instead, the group claims many non-food-focused businesses such as management companies, hotel chains, and recreational facilities obtained funding they shouldn’t have.
Sixty-seven businesses received a USD 10 million (EUR 8.5 million) RRF grant –the most money a business entity could receive. They included Lucky Strike Entertainment, a 16-unit bowling alley chain; Windsor Hospitality, a Marriott/Embassy Suites hotel management company; the foodservice establishments within the France pavilion at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida; Sweet Hospitality Group, a concessions company for Broadway theater; franchisees of McDonald’s, Jimmy John’s, Panera Bread, Dunkin, and Golden Corral; and eight airport and sports venue concessions companies, Nation’s Restaurant News reported.
June 10, 2021 — U.S. foodservice industry organizations praised the introduction of federal legislation on 10 June that would provide USD 60 billion (EUR 49 billion) in additional funding to restaurants that ran into financial distress during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Restaurant Revitalization Fund Replenishment Act, introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate, would effectively replenish the USD 60 billion (EUR 49 billion) Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF).
March 11, 2021 — U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday, 11 March, signed the USD 1.9 trillion (EUR 1.59 trillion) American Rescue Plan Act into law, opening the door for billions in aid to go to businesses – including nearly USD 29 billion (EUR 24.2 billion) for a restaurant industry that’s been battered by closures and other restrictions over the past year due to COVID-19.
On Thursday, the National Restaurant Association lauded the bill’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which association president and CEO Tom Bene said will help save jobs across the country.