Portsmouth Area Restaurants Received Revitalization Grants

Portsmouth VA

29 July, 2021

5:31 PM

Description

PORTSMOUTH, VA — The Restaurant Revitalization Fund doled out more than $28.6 billion in grants to eateries that sustained financial losses during the pandemic, including several Portsmouth area restaurants. The fund was established as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of March 2021. More than 101,000 restaurants received grants as of June 30, according to the Small Business Administration. The average grant size was $283,000. Restaurants were eligible for up to $10 million in grants, with no more than $5 million per location. Funds don't have to be repaid if they are used for eligible expenses, such as payroll or rent, through March 11, 2023. The following Portsmouth area restaurants were among those that received a Restaurant Revitalization Fund grant. Check here for a full, searchable database. Business: ZAK'S CORPORATION Norfolk, VA, 23510 Grant amount: $466,973 Business: MAMA ZUTI LLC Norfolk, VA, 23510 Grant amount: $350,544 Business: COMMUNE NFK LLC Norfolk, VA, 23510 Grant amount: $292,986 Business: SAKURA ELITE SUSHI & HIBACHI INC Norfolk, VA, 23510 Grant amount: $252,359 Business: 111 TAZEWELL LLC Norfolk, VA, 23510 Grant amount: $215,012 Business: GLOBAL ONE DATA Norfolk, VA, 23510 Franchise: Auntie Anne's Grant amount: $191,466 Business: 116 BROOKE L.L.C Norfolk, VA, 23510 Grant amount: $112,648 Business: Jr & Sang Corp. Norfolk, VA, 23510 Grant amount: $111,728 Business: SAKURA ELITE LLC Norfolk, VA, 23510 Grant amount: $89,392 Business: ALATTE CAFE INC Norfolk, VA, 23510 Grant amount: $37,267 Calls for more aid from industry leaders The Restaurant Revitalization Fund received praise from industry members for its simplicity, but many applicants were shut out when funding dried up in June. Nationwide, restaurants submitted more than 278,000 applications, totaling $72.23 billion in requested aid. Around 177,000 applicants were denied grants. There was also confusion about prioritization of funds. The SBA originally prioritized funding for restaurants owned by women, veterans and underserved populations. Some business owners sued, and the SBA ended the practice; around 3,000 priority applicants had grants rescinded, according to The New York Times. The restaurant industry has lost around $290 billion in sales since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the National Restaurant Association. Some 90,000 restaurants closed permanently or long-term. The bipartisan Restaurant Revitalization Fund Replenishment Act proposal would provide $60 billion in additional funding for the program if passed. "The success of the RRF so far is, in large part, because the SBA focused on making the program simple and accessible," NRA Vice President Sean Kennedy said in a statement. "We appreciate how swiftly they were able to establish a program unlike anything they had administrated before, and believe it has the structure to sustain additional funding." Editor's note: This post was automatically generated using data from the SBA. Feedback can be sent to [email protected].