Restaurant Relief Fund
Starting at Noon, Monday, May 3, applications will be accepted for grants under the SBA’s new Restaurant Revitalization Fund (“RRF”). This new fund will dish out $28.6 billion in grant money, but it may go fast so I would encourage you to apply as soon as you can.
The first step to apply is to register for the program. Go ahead and visit SBA.gov/restaurants to determine if you’re eligible for a grant because this site has all of the documentation and instructions you’ll need. If you are eligible, you should then officially register for the program at Restaurants.SBA.gov.
The second step is to gather all the information you will need for your application. Restaurant owners that were open before 2020 will first need their Employer Identification Number, Social Security Number, or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, as well as an address for yourself and anyone that owns more than 20% of your business. You will also need:
- PPP Loan numbers
- List of affiliated businesses (An affiliate business is a business in which the eligible applicant business has an ownership interest of not less than 50%, or in which the eligible applicant business has the contractual authority to control the direction of the other business, based on arrangements or agreements in place as of March 13, 2020)
- Proof of your approved reorganization plan if you have filed for bankruptcy
- Gross receipts documentation, which are documents demonstrating gross receipts and eligible expenses, which include business tax returns (IRS Form 1120 or 1120-S), IRS Forms 1040 Schedule C or F, partnership IRS Form 1065 (including K-1s), bank statements, financial statements, such as income statements or profit and loss statements, and IRS Form 1099-K
Applicants that opened restaurants in 2020 will need three months of bank statements, filed or prepared 2020 federal tax returns filed, 2020 and 2021 point of sales reports, a CPA comfort letter, payroll documents (941s), outdoor seating expenditures invoices and payments, and business debt lender loan statements.
If you need assistance with your application, you can reach out to the SBA for assistance in preparing your application. The agency’s call center support is available at 1-844-279-8898 Monday through Friday from 8:00 am-8:00 pm ET, and you can also contact our local SBA District Office in Newark at 973-645-2434.
You can see a sample application here: https://www.sba.gov/document/sba-form-3172-restaurant-revitalization-funding-application-sample
If you have any questions or need more assistance, please feel free to reach out to me at 908-789-9444 or at b.zuckerman@westfieldtoday.com. Good luck to all who apply!