These Denver Restaurants Received COVID-19 Revitalization Money

DENVER, CO — Restaurants in Denver were among the more than 1,700 in Colorado that received money from the Small Business Administration's Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which was passed by Congress last year as part of a sweeping coronavirus relief package.

A total of $481 million in funding was given to Colorado restaurants. But the 1,771 businesses that received funding under the program were just 36 percent of the 4,870 that applied to the program, which SBA is shutting down Wednesday.

In Denver, grants were given to:

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But restaurants across the country are facing an uncertain future after the U.S. Small Business Administration said last month it was shutting down the Restaurant Revitalization Fund passed by Congress as part of the coronavirus relief package.

“We are thrilled that Colorado restaurants received around $480 million dollars in Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) grants after the worst year in living memory, providing long-awaited hope to thousands of restaurants embarking on a long path to recovery," said Sonia Riggs, Colorado Restaurants Association president and CEO, in a statement.

"The Colorado Restaurant Association worked with the National Restaurant Association, the Small Business Administration (SBA), and other industry partners to secure this federal funding, which is the first targeted restaurant industry relief program since the pandemic began. However, these funds only reached a fraction of the businesses that need them," Riggs' statement read.

"The SBA estimates that they need at least an additional $50 billion just to fund the RRF applications submitted before the application portal was closed. This underscores the necessity of Congress passing the RRF Replenishment Act, which would direct $60 billion in funding to the SBA, allowing it to complete the mission and help more Colorado restaurants recover.”

In an email to applicants last month, the SBA said the program will be "disabled" July 14. At that time, it will stop accepting applications. Nationally, the program has handed out grants to 105,000 restaurants, but another 265,000 applicants are still waiting. A bill to replenish the fund has been introduced in Congress, but it has not moved forward.

Despite restaurant industry lobbying for Congress to replenish the fund, lawmakers have been more focused on reaching a compromise on the Biden administration's infrastructure improvement bill.