Restaurant Revitalization Fund Helps Local Restaurants

That light at the end of the tunnel finally doesn’t look like a train.

On March 10th, parts of Wisconsin started allowing restaurants and taverns to increase the number of customers they’re able to serve.

While this is great news for owners, there are still many who are having a hard time staying open, even with the lessening of restrictions. Help is on the way.

Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF)

Section 5003 of the American Rescue Plan Act allocates $28.6 billion to create the RRF to specifically help restaurant, bar, and tavern owners with recovering from business loss during the pandemic.

Read Section 5003 of the American Rescue Plan Act

Here are a few key points regarding the RRF:

• The RRF offers tax-free grants for restaurant owners with 20 or fewer locations.
• The tax-free grants have a limit of up to $5 million per location, or up to $10 million for multiple locations.
• Grant amounts are calculated by subtracting 2020 sales from 2019 sales.
• $5 billion of the RRF will be set aside for restaurants with gross receipts under $500,000.
• For the first three weeks of the program, the Small Business Administration (SBA) will make it a priority of awarding grants to women- and veteran-owned businesses, as well as economically disadvantaged-owned businesses.

Expenses That Can Be Paid Using RRF

Here are examples of expenses that can be paid using RRF dollars:

• Payroll
• Food and Beverage Inventory
• Mortgage or Rent
• Operational Expenses
• Utilities
• Supplies

This is just a brief outline of the RRF to give eligible restaurant owners a heads-up to start preparing on their end. Hopefully, the RRF will give Madison restaurants and bars the opportunity to start the recovery process as we continue to slowly move out of the COVID-19 shadow.

Here is a PDF from the National Restaurant Association that gives additional details about RRF:

Understanding RRF