Just before Thanksgiving, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that it was releasing an additional $83 million in unused Restaurant Revitalization funds, some 18 months after the program officially closed. The monies have been earmarked for 169 restaurant operators in the order that their applications were received back when the program was operable. The US…
Read More »The U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) confirmed this week that there remains approximately $180 Million in the closed Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) and it will soon begin distributing those funds to qualified restaurants. The RRF, launched in 2021 to counter the devastation that the pandemic heaped upon the restaurant industry, was initially funded to…
Read More »Yesterday, the U.S. Senate voted 52-43 for closure on the Small Business COVID Relief Act of 2022 (S.4008). Unfortunately, the bill was being filibustered and therefore needed 60 votes to begin debate on the floor for a vote on passage. S.4008 reallocated $5 billion from previously appropriated COVID funds however, the funding for the remaining…
Read More »In the ‘never say never category’, the US House of Representatives yesterday passed legislation replenishing the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) with an additional appropriation of $42 billion. But, before we get too excited about the extra round of funding to help restaurants recover from the coronavirus pandemic, realize that it still must pass the Senate,…
Read More »Congress last week gave final passage to a government spending bill that authorized – and funded – the government to keep operating through the end of the current fiscal year on September 30, 2022. In the process however, it seemingly killed any hope of replenishing the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) for the foreseeable future. President…
Read More »Although it is not anywhere close to reality just yet, QSR franchisees and other restaurant operators can take some solace in bipartisan efforts currently underway in Congress to resurrect and recapitalize the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF). Maryland Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship has again joined with…
Read More »Efforts continue in Congress, albeit unsuccessfully at this point, to replenish funding for the popular Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF). This most recent effort was lead by Maryland Senator Ben Cardin along with Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker, and would have provided for an additional $48 billion in new funding for the RRF. The program was originally…
Read More »With the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) completely out of funds and shut down for the last month – and against the backdrop of trillions of dollars being proposed for infrastructure and progressive legislative priorities – another bill to replenish the RRF was filed again this week. The Entrepreneurs Need Timely Replenishment for Eating Establishments Act…
Read More »So, earlier in this issue, we talked about the Restaurant Revitalization Fund being closed and out of funds. Seems like a post-mortem on the program might be an interesting exercise? Well, it turns out that Subway franchisees were the biggest recipients – in fact, of the 272,000 applications submitted, almost 2,900 Subway restaurants received funding…
Read More »Rife with problems from the get-go, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) was closed to new applications yesterday by the US Small Business Administration (SBA), but the application portal will remain open for another two weeks to allow applicants to check their status. With its creation as an integral part of the American Rescue Plan –…
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