On March 18, the National Restaurant Association reacted to the pandemic and wrote Congress with a list of ways to help what we predicted would be a devastating event to our industry. At the top of our list – a $145 billion grant program for the restaurant industry. We’ve had a series of smaller wins that have provided partial relief for hundreds of thousands of restaurants, but we’ve always noted they were secondary to our primary goal.
We asked you to lend your voice – and were overwhelmed with the response. You joined us on social media, on phone calls, in Zoom rooms, and in meetings with our state restaurant associations. Lawmakers from across the political spectrum heard us and worked to provide relief.
Today, the House and Senate will send to the White House the American Rescue Plan, which contains $28.6 billion for a new “Restaurant Revitalization Fund”. We’ve prepared an overview on how the Fund works, which can be found here.
This Monday at 1pm EST, we will host a national webinar on what you need to know about the RRF and we’ll answer your questions. Click here for more details and to register.
Our goal here in Washington is to prepare and educate you so that you understand the program, how it works, and how you can apply. Expect to hear a lot more from us and our state association partners in the coming weeks on this front.
Thank you for your ongoing engagement and support!
— Sean
Sean Kennedy
Executive Vice President of Public Affairs
National Restaurant Association
