Almost exactly one year after restaurants across our country were ordered to close, President Biden enacted the American Rescue Plan creating the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), by far the most significant recovery resource available for the industry to date. For an industry that has suffered disproportionately due to pandemic mitigation efforts this comes as a huge sigh of relief, enabling restaurants to survive and saving millions of jobs. Food service sales have decreased a staggering $255 billion and 110, 000 restaurants have closed.
In an attempt to address one of the major shortcomings of the Paycheck Protection Program, the RRF also sets aside $5 billion to create a new tax-free federal grant program through the Small Business Administration for small restaurants. For the first 21 days of the program, funds are prioritized for distribution to women-owned, veteran- owned, and socially/economically disadvantaged businesses.
While our beloved hospitality industry is still a long way from recovery, with some restaurants permanently closed, we at Latinas Wine Club applaud this measure to help support our favorite restaurants, and especially those owned by women and minorities who have been disproportionately affected during this pandemic.
We hope this more equitable access to relief means we will soon be able to have a glass of wine once again at our favorite bars.
Salud,
Erlinda and Martha
