Food & Beverage

Congress to refund Restaurant Revitalization Fund

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June 10, 2021

Congress tomorrow will unveil the Restaurant Revitalization Fund Replenishment Act of 2021 to provide $60 billion in additional funding for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, according to a news release from the National Restaurant Association.

According to the Small Business Administration, more than 362,000 applications for a total of $75 billion in funding were received in the three weeks the RRF application portal was open. The average grant application was for just over $200,000. This means that more than half of the eating and drinking establishments open at the beginning of the pandemic operated with a severe revenue loss in the last year, the NRA said.

Since the onset of the pandemic restaurant shutdowns in March 2020, the restaurant industry has lost $290 billion in sales, 90,000 restaurants have closed permanently or long-term, and more than 1.5 million jobs have not been recovered, according to the NRA.

"The introduction of this additional $60 billion in funding not only answers that question but proves once again that Congress understands and supports the foodservice industry," Sean Kennedy, NRA executive vice president of Public Affairs, said in the release.