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by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

We Need to Join Forces on the RRF

We Need to Join Forces on the RRF

by David Klemt

The United States Capitol Building with blue sky and white clouds in the background

It’s time for all hospitality professionals to come together and tell Congress to replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.

Honestly, it’s well beyond time for us to all join forces and send our message to Congress.

Owners, operators, managers, and team members need to contact their representatives. Additionally, they need to encourage their friends and family members to do the same.

If we’re going to stop the damage to our industry, this needs to be done.

State of the RRF

Per this download from the National Restaurant Association, 455,304 eligible restaurants applied for RRF grants.

In total, 278,304 restaurants were awarded grants.

To be fair, that’s excellent news. And the Small Business Administration should be applauded for providing lifelines to nearly 280,000 restaurants.

However, the $28.6 billion the fund was seeded with was never going to be enough. Also, the SBA’s RRF portal was open nowhere near long enough.

Toward the end of May, Republican members of Congress sent a letter to the SBA. In it, they criticize the SBA for closing the portal so quickly.

To provide context, the RRF application portal was open a mere 21 days. Further context: the SBA made it clear before the RRF portal was opened that only priority applications would be processed for the first 21 days.

Replenish the RRF

According to the NRA, 177,000 eligible RRF applicants were not awarded grants.

That number represents a total of $43.6 billion in grants that haven’t been awarded.

So, not only does the SBA need to reopen the RRF, they need to replenish it with at least $43.6 billion. The NRA is asking that Congress refill the RRF with $50 billion.

We all know that the situation is dire. Per the NRA, 1.3 million jobs have been lost. Since the first 14 months of the Covid-19 pandemic, restaurants have lost $290 billion in sales. Obviously, that number has grown. At least 90,000 restaurants have either closed their doors long-term or forever.

However, this isn’t only about our industry. As the NRA shows, every dollar spent on this industry generates $2 for farming, baking, fishing, and other industries.

Looking at the numbers makes it clear: We all need to carve out the few minutes it will take to tell our representatives what we want.

What do we want? For the RRF to be replenished. Click here to tell Congress to replenish the RRF with at least $50 billion, and make sure to spread this message on social by using #ReplishRRF.

There are millions and millions of us in this industry. Now more than ever, we need to join forces and pull in the same direction.

Image: Louis Velazquez on Unsplash

Wad of dollar bills with red rubber band
by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

State of the RRF: By the Numbers

State of the RRF: By the Numbers

by David Klemt

Wad of dollar bills with red rubber band

The “tale of the tape” of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund tells a clear story: the RRF needs an injection of tens of billions of dollars.

Clearly, $28.6 was nowhere near enough to award every eligible restaurant and bar with a grant.

In fact, the RRF would need at least another $50 billion to serve all eligible applicants.

The Numbers

First, the Small Business Administration is to be commended for setting up the RRF portal, making the application process clear, and handling applications well.

However, there’s one glaring issue with the RRF and the review and awards process. I’ll get to that in the next section.

Per the National Restaurant Association, more than 362,000 applications were submitted via the RRF portal.

In total, the applications add up to $75 billion in grant requests. Again, the RRF was funded by the government with $28.6 billion. It doesn’t take a mathematician to see that the fund was severely underfunded.

Controversy

Last week, a number of Republican members of Congress sent a letter to the SBA. The gist of their message was that the RRF’s closure was premature. Therefore, the group concluded, non-priority applicants wouldn’t receive grants or even have the opportunity to apply for grants.

In the letter, which can be reviewed here, the authors also took shots at Democrats, the Biden Administration, and undocumented immigrants.

Setting politics aside, the announcement of the RRF’s portal closure was inarguably premature. The application process was first opened on Monday, May 3. For the first 21 days, the SBA announced that while all eligible entities could apply, only priority applicants would be processed and awarded grants.

However, the RRF portal closed to applications on Monday, May 24…21 days after it first opened. The members of Congress who penned the letter to the SBA have a point: the SBA closed the RRF portal after only operating within the priority window.

Now What?

There’s no other way to put this: The RRF needs more funding.

Essentially, it needs twice the funding it had when it was first seeded. There’s zero guarantee that Congress will address this matter, but at least a handful of lawmakers are aware of the dire situation.

Two weeks ago, the NRA launched a petition urging the government to replenish the RRF. Of course, the RRF also needs to be reopened for applications, and the application process needs to be open to all eligible applicants.

There’s no promise the petition will achieve the desired result but we must do something. Click here to sign the petition and tell Congress the RRF needs to be replenished and reopened.

Image: Karolina Grabowska from Pexels

Piggy bank wearing a face mask
by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Tell the Government to Refill the RRF

Tell the Government to Refill the RRF

by David Klemt

Piggy bank wearing a face mask

The National Restaurant Association is urging restaurant, bar and other hospitality operators to sign a Restaurant Revitalization Fund petition.

Put concisely, the NRA’s petition asks the federal government to replenish the RRF.

Grants are going out and there’s no guarantee the $28.6 billion fund is enough for every eligible business. Therefore, the NRA is calling for more funds.

The Petition

Now, there is good news regarding the RRF. Per the Small Business Administration, 21,000 applicants have received $2.7 billion in grants.

However, when one considers that well over 180,000 grant applications were submitted within the first 48 hours, the $28.6 billion will more than likely run out before every eligible business receives a grant. The first 16,000 grants alone total $2 billion.

According to one source, priority applications carry a value of approximately $29 billion. Obviously, that’s more money than is in the fund.

And that’s only the value of applications receiving priority for the first 21 days. Clearly, more funding is necessary.

As the NRA’s petition states, “We are urging policymakers in Washington—from the White House to Capitol Hill—to replenish the RRF to maximize relief for small independent and franchise restaurant operators. Americans can’t wait to get back into their favorite restaurant with their family and friends, and the federal government can play a key role in making that a reality.”

Click here to sign the NRA’s petition. Our industry is the hardest hit by the pandemic and every eligible business deserves funding.

It’s not that this industry isn’t grateful—it’s that hundreds of thousands of businesses are fighting to stay alive. They’ve been doing so for more than a year.

The RRF

The SBA’s RRF portal link is https://restaurants.sba.gov. Alternatively, operations can use a POS that’s an SBA partner to apply. Partner systems include Clover, NCR, Square, and Toast.

According to the SBA website, certain eligible entities will be given priority.

For the first 21 days the application process is open, priority will go to small businesses with a minimum of 51 percent ownership by women, veterans or socially disadvantaged people.

The application process should open to every applicant on Monday, May 24. For more in-depth information, operators can follow the appropriate links to review the Small Business Administration’s RRF program guide and sample application.

Applicants do not need to register with SAM.gov (System for Award Management) or provide DUNS or CAGE identifiers.

To calculate a grant amount, an applicant subtracts 2020 gross receipts from 2019 gross receipts. Applicants must deduct first-draw PPP and second-draw PPP loans. Any economic disaster loans—Economic Injury Disaster Loans, for example—are not RRF deductions.

Again, please click here to sign the NRA’s petition today.

Image: Konstantin Evdokimov on Unsplash

Man in empty restaurant and bar in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Canadian Hospitality Needs Real Help

Canadian Hospitality Needs Real Help

by David Klemt

Man in empty restaurant and bar in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Restaurants, bars and other foodservice establishments throughout Canada need specific relief to survive, replace lost jobs, and return to profitability.

The seemingly endless and severe provincial restrictions is putting far too much strain on a struggling industry.

Yes, there are some federal provisions in place. No, they’re not enough.

Relief Efforts

Currently, the federal budget promises extensions for wage and rent subsidies. Those subsidies would extend to September 25, 2021.

However, most Canadians, per a Restaurants Canada survey, agree that the industry needs more help.

If additional industry-specific relief faces significant delays or doesn’t come at all, operators, employees, and their families will suffer.

No wonder, then, that 90 percent of Canadians (according to the Restaurants Canada survey) feel restaurants and bars need federal support to remain in business and continue paying staff.

Support Proposals

Of the approximately 98,000 foodservice establishments throughout Canada, about 10,000 are out of business. As of last month, 319,000 lost foodservice jobs had yet to be filled.

No other industry in Canada is facing such startling numbers. Add to that the fact that the industry contributes to four percent of Canada’s GDP, restaurants are the first employers for most Canadians, women comprise nearly 60 percent of the restaurant workforce, and visible minorities comprise over 30 percent of ownership and labor, and the situation grows even starker.

Clearly, industry-specific relief is necessary.

Restaurants Canada is campaigning for the following measures:

  • Extend the wage and rent subsidies through April 2022.
  • Develop subsidy requirements that more closely match the dire reality the industry continues to face.
  • Implement an employee retention and retraining credit to defray Covid-19 protocol costs.
  • Partial forgiveness for all government-backed loans.
  • Removal of merchant fees from the tax portion of restaurant bills.
  • Restore the meals and expenses to 100 percent on a temporary basis.
  • Develop and implement a culinary tourism incentive for the 2020 and 2021 tax years, using New Brunswick as a model.
  • Implement a rebate program that provides government reimbursement of $15 per person, per meal.
  • Freeze the Excise Act, including Excise Act 2021.

Act Now

It took more than a year but the industry and its supporters in America helped bring about meaningful change for restaurants, bars, and other hospitality venues.

The same can be done in Canada, and time is of the essence.

For example, the Restaurant Revival Working Group is a good start for effecting change. The group consists of government and industry representatives.

Click here to review the list of Restaurant Revival Working Group members, particularly those in government, so you can contact them.

Image: Tyler Farmer on Unsplash

Modern neon sign hanging in window
by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

RRF Applications Open Monday

RRF Applications Open Monday

by David Klemt

Modern neon sign hanging in window

In long overdue but very welcome news, the Small Business Administration’s RRF portal opens to accept applications on Monday.

Operators and business owners will be able to register this Friday, April 30.

We definitely recommend doing so to make the application process simpler and (hopefully) less frustrating on Monday, May 3.

What You Need to Know

Mainly, the following: The SBA’s RRF portal link is https://restaurants.sba.gov. It would probably be a good idea to go ahead and bookmark that site now.

Alternately, operators using an SBA POS partner to apply. Partner systems include Clover, NCR, Square, and Toast.

Per the SBA, operators will be able to register via the website beginning at 9:00 AM EST on Friday. Again, it would be wise to plan on doing exactly that.

Anything that can be done to speed up the application process opening Monday should be done.

According to the SBA website, certain eligible entities will be given priority. For the first 21 days the application process is open, priority will be granted to small businesses with a minimum of 51 percent ownership by women, veterans or socially disadvantaged people.

However, all eligible owners and operators should register on Friday and apply on Monday. Doing should, in theory, help applicants secure their grants in a more timely manner.

RRF Preparation

The SBA’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund portal opens at noon ET on Monday. It’s best to prepare as much as possible as it’s likely applicants may find themselves in a queue depending upon traffic.

Operators can calculate their grant amounts with the following equations for applicants:

  • in operation prior to or on January 1, 2019: 2019 gross receipts minus 2020 gross receipts minus PPP loan amounts.
  • that began operations partially through 2019: (Average 2019 monthly gross receipts x 12) minus 2020 gross receipts minus PPP loan amounts.
  • who began operations on or between January 1, 2020 and March 10, 2021: Amount spent on eligible expenses between February 15, 2020 and March 11, 2021 minus 2020 gross receipts minus 2021 gross receipts (through March 11, 2021) minus PPP loan amounts
  • not yet opened but have incurred eligible expenses: Amount spent on eligible expenses between February 15, 2020 and March 11, 2021 minus 2020 gross receipts minus 2021 gross receipts (through March 11, 2021) minus PPP loan amounts

Note: Entities who began operations partially through 2019 may elect, at their own discretion, to use either calculation two, three or four above.

For further guidance and to prepare as much as possible, please click here for the SBA’s RRF guide, and click here to review the sample application.

The Independent Restaurant Coalition also has a handy checklist posted to Instagram:

Good luck!

Image: Prateek Katyal on Unsplash

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