A new federally funded grant program will provide $35 million to small businesses around the state, including its struggling restaurants and bars, Gov. Ned Lamont has announced.
Funded by the CARES Act, the grants for up to 2,000 small and midsize businesses will range from $10,000 to $30,000. Qualifying businesses, which also include those in the retail, lodging, entertainment and recreation sectors, need to demonstrate that their revenues have declined by at least 20%.
The funds are essentially meant to serve as a bridge until the next round of federal Covid-19 aid is made available. That $900 billion package, which was approved yesterday by Congress, will deliver roughly $300 billion to the Payroll Protection Program (PPP); Connecticut businesses are expected to receive roughly $3 billion.
President Donald Trump is expected to sign that bill into law this week.
“This additional funding for small businesses will help hundreds and hundreds of … restaurants keep their doors open and keep more of their workers employed during the difficult winter months ahead,” said Scott Dolch, executive director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, which estimates that 600 restaurants have closed due to the pandemic.
“The result will be that more restaurants will be ready and able to be part of Connecticut”™s economic recovery in 2021 as we finally begin moving beyond the pandemic,” Dolch said. “Connecticut and its restaurants are not out of the woods yet. In the months ahead, we will continue to go above and beyond to keep our customers and our employees safe, and we urge the dining public to continue supporting their local restaurants and all small businesses across Connecticut.”
