Mar 18 RESTAURANT REVITALIZATION FUND UPDATE: ELIGIBLE BUSINESS OWNERS NEED TO PREPARE TO APPLY RIGHT AWAY

All eligible businesses (restaurants, caterers, food stands, food trucks or carts, saloons, inn taverns, bars and other eligible businesses) that want to apply for the new Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) grants, established through the American Rescue Plan Act, should prepare to apply as soon as possible as funds will be available on a first come first served basis.

The RRF will be administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA).  The application process is not yet open, but we anticipate it opening in the very near future.

Unlike the Paycheck Protection Program, the RRF funds will come directly from the Federal government and there is a different registration process to apply for the grant.

To apply for the grant, you will ultimately need to be registered with the government on the System of Award Management (SAM).

To become active on the SAM system, you need to follow these steps:

1. Create a user account on Login.gov
2. Sign up for a DUNS number (this typically takes 1-2 days to process)
3. Register with SAM using your username from Login.gov, DUNS number, and your standard business info such as your Tax ID Number (it can take up to 2 weeks to get your SAM number)

The program size for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund is $28.6 billion. These grants will be available on a first come first serve basis and are expected to be exhausted very quickly.  While we await for the RRF application process to open, eligible business owners should prepare now to apply by registering on SAM.

For more information on the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, read our recent alert here.

We will continue to keep you informed as updates emerge.  Please contact your Sax advisor to assist you with the relevant paperwork needed to demonstrate your gross revenue loss in 2020 as compared to 2019.