Will the Restaurant Revitalization Fund be Enough Support for the Food Service Industry?

Congress approved $28.6 billion in grant money for independent restaurants. It falls short of what advocates say is needed, but they still see reason for optimism.

Around 140,000 operators of small U.S. restaurants, bars, food trucks, and breweries logged on to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) portal on April 30 to pre-register for $28.6 billion in federal grant money made available by the American Rescue Plan. Alex Raij was one of them. The co-owner of three neighborhood restaurants in Brooklyn and Manhattan—La Vara, Saint Julivert, and Txikito—was now anxiously awaiting the big day on May 3. That’s when the Small Business Administration (SBA) would begin accepting first-come, first-served applications for the aid, which was designated for a wider swath of industry establishments that had originally received assistance from two rounds of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)—those who hadn’t qualified, or who didn’t apply before monies ran out, or whose banks were unprepared to assist them.

Raij had “talked to friends more prepared than me and watched a million webinars” on how to apply, she said. “But I used to sleep out for concert tickets and that’s what this feels like. It feels stressful.”

Amid the stress were glimmers of hope. JJ Johnson is the owner of New York’s FieldTrip, three fast-casual restaurants specializing in rice bowls made with heirloom grains and global ingredients, two of which potentially qualify for grants. “The economy of the restaurant industry has changed and there are not enough rice bowls you can sell to get back,” he said. “[RRF grants] allow everyone to start with a clean slate.”

In fact, the Independent Restaurant Coalition (IRC), which formed last March to help independent food and beverage businesses recoup some of their catastrophic revenue losses— partnering with the SBA to get this grant program piloted, operational, and “customer-centric”—had lobbied Congress to release $120 billion. The fractional amount given, though, “won’t be anywhere near enough to save restaurants,” said Los Angeles-based chef and IRC co-founder Caroline Styne in a press conference last week. “We have a long way to go and the need is deep. While this will help, we’re all very convinced that this money is going to run out pretty quickly.”