Food & Beverage

SBA to applicants: Restaurant Revitalization Fund is closed

Photo: iStock.

July 1, 2021

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has sent an email to Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) applicants informing them that the fund has closed and access to its portal is being shut down on July 14. Though the SBA had not released any news concerning the move at the time of this writing, the National Restaurant Association made the announcement around 9:30 a.m. Eastern today in an email.

In response, NRA Executive Vice President of Public Affairs Sean Kennedy said, "For 100,000 restaurants, the RRF has made their future clear and stable, but for the more than 200,000 operators shut out of funding, receiving this letter today only heightens their fear and anger.

"Across the country, a growing number of restaurants have uncertain futures. Many are in the ironic position of seeing indoor dining resume but are taking in less revenue amidst rising food prices and inadequate staffing to fully open. These operators have made all of the cuts and changes they can to stay open for the last year and are once again worried they won't make it another month. We need congress to act on the RRF Replenishment Act to provide the SBA with the funds they need to complete this important mission."

The NRA provided a data snapshot of where the restaurant industry stands today, to drive home its point that the need is still strong for federal funding to restaurant operators:
Consumer spending in restaurants continued an upward trend in May. At first glance sales surpassed Feb 2020 sales volumes, however, after adjusting for menu-price inflation, real eating and drinking place sales remain approximately 3% below pre-pandemic levels.

In the first 13 months of the pandemic, restaurant and foodservice sales are down $290 billion from expected levels.
• 90,000 restaurants are closed permanently or long-term.
• According to a survey by Alignable, 39% of small business restaurant owners said they couldn't cover their June rent.
• More than 362,000 restaurants applied for more than $75 billion in grants.
• Total number of applicants is about 55% of the total number of eating and drinking establishments open in February 2020.
• On average, restaurants requested grants of around $207,000, demonstrating the tremendous financial need holding these small businesses back from recovery.

QSRweb had not received a response to a request for comment at the time of this writing from the SBA.