The Restaurant Revitalization Fund has been depleted, with roughly two-thirds of Connecticut and New York applicants still awaiting funding.
U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Isabel Guzman announced the closure of the RRF program, signed into law by President Joe Biden as part of the American Rescue Plan. The program provided economic aid to restaurants and other establishments struggling to make ends meet as a result of the pandemic.
“The $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund provided desperately needed relief to more than 100,000 restaurants and other food and beverage businesses across the nation with significant funding going to our hardest-hit, underserved businesses,” Guzman said.
“Restaurants are at the center of our neighborhoods and propel economic activity on Main Streets,” she continued. “As among the first to close in this pandemic and likely the last to reopen, many are still struggling to survive. The SBA will continue to work hard to ensure they get the resources they need to recover, rebuild and be resilient.”
The SBA said that, as of June 30, 1,303 Connecticut entities received approvals totaling $301,164,069. All told, 3,369 Connecticut restaurants applied for a total of $790,818,094.
In New York, 9,775 entities received approvals totaling $3,667,054,114. A total of 27,643 restaurants in the Empire State applied for a cumulative $9,633,541,235.
Nationally, 278,304 RRF grant applications totaling $72,233,280,031 were submitted; 101,004 were approved for a total of $28,574,979,472.
There has been no indication whether the federal government plans to replenish the RRF.
The fund”™s application platform will remain open for the next two weeks to allow applicants to check their status, address payment corrections, or ask questions. The SBA will disable access to the platform on July 14.
