City to provide assistance for local businesses applying for federal 'Restaurant Revitalization' funding
House of Prime Rib San Francisco.
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco city officials on Monday launched a new program to help restaurants, bars, and other food and beverage businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic seeking to apply for federal aid.
The aid comes from the federal Restaurant Revitalization Fund, a $28.6 billion program, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act -- a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus plan approved by Congress and signed into law by U.S. President Joe Biden in March.
Eligible businesses include restaurants, bars, food trucks, caterers, lounges, bakeries, breweries, wineries, and distilleries, among others.
Because the application process for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund began on Monday, city leaders announced the city's Economic and Workforce Development Office will partner with the Mission Economic Development Agency and several other community organizations to provide assistance in multiple languages for local businesses.
"We're doing everything we can to help small businesses in San Francisco -- from providing local relief to helping businesses access state and federal dollars," Breed said in a statement. "San Francisco is lucky to have an amazing, diverse food scene, and we need our local restaurants to make it through this challenging time. Every bit of financial support businesses can get will help them stay open and recover, so we want to encourage all eligible restaurants to apply for this fund."
"In San Francisco, our restaurants are at the heart of our community life. Thanks to President Biden and Democrats in Congress, the American Rescue Plan has delivered a new lifeline for our local restaurants in the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, especially those that are women-owned, minority-owned and veteran-owned," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
Pelosi championed the American Rescue Plan in congress.
"Mayor Breed has worked tirelessly to help San Francisco restaurants and small businesses access vital federal relief funding so that they can survive this crisis, and I look forward to working closely with her to build back our vibrant city stronger than ever," Pelosi said.
Business applying for the restaurant fund could potentially receive as much as $10 million each and would not be required to pay back the funds as long as they are used to eligible uses by March 11, 2023.
For a list of local organizations providing resources for San Francisco businesses can be found at www.oewd.org/covid19.
More information about the federal restaurant fund, including how to apply, can be found at https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/covid-19-relief-options/restaurant-revitalization-fund.