Rockland Offers Restaurants Rescue Grants

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — To help local eateries in Rockland, county officials have launched a grant program with $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds.

The Reviving Rockland Restaurants Grant Program will reimburse businesses between $5,000 and $25,000 for past expenses or fund future expenses for eligible outdoor dining COVID-19 mitigation equipment. Eligible entities include restaurants, food stands, food trucks, bars, saloons, lounges, taverns, bakeries, delis, cafes, breweries, wineries, and other similar places of business.

Those businesses have faced many difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic including periods of closure, reduced capacity or declining revenues when customers were unable or unwilling to dine in, county officials said — and those challenges are having significant negative impacts on restaurant employment and the economy.

Eligible expenses include, but are not limited to:

• Tents
• Heat Lamps or other electric heating equipment
• Additional tables and chairs for outdoor dining
• Market Umbrellas
• Plexiglass Shields
• Tarps
• Patio Fencing

"We have made great progress in recovering from the economic damage of the COVID-19 pandemic with our November unemployment rate reaching 3.3 percent," County Executive Ed Day said. "These programs will help ensure our economic recovery stays on track."

County Legislature Chairman Jay Hood Jr. urged eligible restaurateurs to apply as possible.

"They stepped up and did everything in their power to help our residents through the pandemic and we are now doing what we can to support them," he said.

For more information and to download an application click here.