Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Small Business Association on May 10 began distributing the first round of economic relief through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund to more than 16,000 applicants which totaled over $2 billion.

The Restaurant Revitalization Fund was created through the American Rescue Plan, the Biden administration’s COVID-19 relief legislation, according to a press release from the SBA. Restaurants and other food and beverage businesses across the country began to see funds in their bank accounts as early as Tuesday, May 11.

“We know that this help is urgently needed by so many who have suffered disproportionately from this pandemic and have often been unable to access relief,” said SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman. “Restaurants are the core of our neighborhoods and propel economic activity on Main Streets across the nation. The SBA is here to help them build resilience to survive this pandemic as we get our economy back on track.”

Through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, restaurants are eligible for funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue losses and the funding is capped at $10 million per business and $5 million per location, the press release says. The SBA will continue to fund approved applications until all funds have been exhausted and businesses interested in applying can do so through the SBA website.

After the 21-day priority period, all eligible applications will receive funding in the order in which they were received by the SBA. While the SBA is continuing to take applications until funds are exhausted, the number of applications received so far could exhaust the currently available funding, according to the SBA press release.

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