CHIRP Funds Make Their Way To Montco Hospitality Businesses

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — A local state representative is applauding the awarding of state COVID-19 relief money to restaurants and bars throughout the county.

State Rep. Joe Ciresi, a Democrat who represents Pennsylvania’s 146th Legislative District, said that it was restaurants and bars who experienced much of the economic devastation during the coronavirus pandemic, and that it was time to help them get back on their feet with monetary aid.

Ciresi highlighted the $770,000 that was recently awarded to a number of businesses throughout his central and western Montgomery County district as a way to say thank you to those establishments who had to weather this difficult storm.

“I am very glad that this critical funding has been awarded, as I repeatedly sponsored legislation to provide life-supporting financial aid to help our struggling restaurants and local businesses during the pandemic,” Ciresi said in a news release. “Our restaurants and bars bore the brunt of the pandemic’s economic devastation when they closed down to protect their patrons’ and employees’ health. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude and the financial support necessary to get back on their feet after a brutal year.”

The funding came from Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 Hospitality Industry Recovery Program, also known as CHIRP, which was designed to allocate a total of $145 million to hospitality businesses who were adversely affected by the pandemic.

Hospitality businesses from all of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties were eligible to apply for the funding, which would help alleviate revenue losses and pay eligible operating expenses due to COVID-19, according to information found on the website of the state’s Department of Community and Economic Development.

According to Ciresi’s office, all of the program’s funds were allocated as of May 13, and the Redevelopment Authority of Montgomery County has notified all recipients of their grant awards.

In total, 20 businesses in Ciresi’s district received funding through CHIRP. A list of those recipients and their award dollars are as follows:

• Sly Fox Hospitality Group, Pottstown: $40,000
• Pottstown Center King Buffet, Inc., Pottstown: $50,000
• S&B Event Concepts and Catering, Perkiomen Township: $30,000
• Limerick Airport Hotel, Inc., Limerick Township: $50,000
• iCreate Cafe, Pottstown: $30,000
• Trappe Tavern, Inc., Trappe: $40,000
• Aye Caramba Taco, Inc., Pottstown: $35,000
• KDC Enterprises, Lower Pottsgrove Township: $35,000
• Latitude Hotels Group Royersford, L.P., Limerick Township: $50,000
• Crate Ale House, Limerick Township: $50,000
• Jack Cassidy's Irish Pub (Leodave Inc.), Pottstown: $50,000
• Lakeview Cafe (PAK Good, LLC.), Limerick Township: $30,000
• The Blue Elephant (WIN Global Investment LLC), Pottstown: $40,000
• Stickman Brews (Buckman Beverage LLC), Limerick Township: $40,000
• Copperfield Inn, LLC, Limerick Township: $40,000
• SunnyBrook, LLC, Lower Pottsgrove Township: $40,000
• Limerick Hotel Corp., Limerick Township: $40,000
• Tom's Bar & Grille Inc., Royersford: $40,000
• Robert Ryan Catering, Perkiomen Township: $40,000