Restaurant Revitalization

The massive financial support extended to businesses and individuals through the CARES Act of March 2020 helped prevent further damage to the economy so that it turns around as fast as possible while the fight against the Covid19 pandemic continues. The financial stimulus package did meet its goals in mitigating economic hardships. Still, it became necessary to continue with some CARES Act programs that were about to expire by the end of 2020. To keep providing financial support through some programs of the CARES Act, on December 27, 2020, the President signed the Consolidated Appropriation Act 2021 that helped reopen several CARES Act programs, explains William D King.  The CAA not only reopened several programs that already existed but also introduced some new programs for businesses and individuals.

The new President Biden expanded and strengthened the government’s financial support further by introducing the American Rescue Plan Act of March 11, 2021, which provides a massive stimulus of $1.9 trillion to facilitate the nation’s recovery from the devastating health and economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.  Under the Act, the Restaurant Revitalization Funding (RRF) program allows eligible businesses to recover some pandemic-induced losses.

William D Kingoutlines the eligibility for RRF

The Restaurant Revitalization Funding (RRF) aims to support the food and beverage industry that has been among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Businesses like restaurants, food carts, food trucks, food stands, bars, taverns, saloons, and lounges come under the purview of the RRF program. Bakeries, tasting rooms, brewpubs, taprooms, wineries, breweries, microbreweries, inns, and distilleries are eligible if the on-site sales to the public are at least 33%. The licensed premises or facilities of a beverage alcohol producer that use the place for selling products to the public besides allowing tasting and sampling are eligible for RRF.  Non-alcoholic beverage bars, snack bars, and other similar business areas that serve food and drinks to the public can qualify for RRF.

Amount of grant

The operating date of the applicant is crucial in determining the grant amount, and it corresponds to the data the business starts making sales. Usually, the grant is equivalent to the revenue losses incurred by the applicant during the pandemic not exceeding $5 million per location and not exceeding $10 million for any applicant taken together with the affiliated businesses.

Use of funds

The funds available from the grant are for specific use by businesses to meet the expenses incurred between February 15, 2020, and March 11, 2023, confirms William D King. The expenses include payroll costs, including sick leave and the costs of group health care, mortgage payments related to business, including principal and interest, business rent, business debt service, business utilities, and maintenance expenses. Other expenses include construction of outdoor seating, business food, and beverage expenses and raw materials for spirits, beer, and wine, business supplies including cleaning materials and protective equipment, covered supplier cost and business operating expenses like supplies, equipment, rent, legal, training, inventory, accounting, insurance, etc.

The RRF program has a corpus of $28.6 billion, of which $5 billion is for applicants with gross receipts in 2019 within $500,000.  $4 billion is for applicants with gross receipts in 2019 between $5,00,001 and $15 00,000. The rest of the funds is allocated for applicants with 2019 gross receipts not exceeding $50,000.

Qualified costs and covered period

RRF monies got might be utilized for any of the accompanying things during the covered time of Feb. 15, 2020, to March 11, 2023. (For all time shut substances, the covered period closes on the date of conclusion or March 11, 2023, whichever is sooner.) If a qualified element doesn’t utilize all award assets by the assigned cutoff time, any leftover assets should be gotten back to the Treasury.

• Finance costs– Including wiped out leave and expenses identified with the continuation of gathering medical services, life, incapacity, vision, or dental advantages during times of paid debilitated, clinical, or family leave, and gathering medical care, life, inability, vision, or dental protection charges
• Installments on any business contract commitment (both head and interest, yet no prepayment of head)
• Lease installments, including rent under a rent understanding (however excluding any prepayment)
• Business obligation administration (both head and interest, however no prepayment of head or interest)
• Utilities -for the circulation of power, gas, water, phone, or web access, or some other utility that is utilized in the customary course of business for which administration started before March 11, 2021.
• Support costs– Remembering upkeep for dividers, floors, deck surfaces, furniture, installations, and hardware. While substances can not utilize assets for development purposes, they can utilize them to supplant furniture, installations, and gear (FF&E) or stalled food trucks, SBA said in its FAQ.