Hope for the Future: Restaurant Industry Responds to Rescue Plan

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. signed the American Rescue Plan Act into law creating the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF),which the National Restaurant Association calls “the most important recovery tool for the industry to date.”

“The creation of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund will be a catalyst to reviving restaurants and saving jobs across the country,” said Tom Bené, President & CEO of the National Restaurant Association. “Our focus from the beginning of this crisis has been on ensuring that our favorite local restaurants could access the assistance they would need to survive. This fund is a win for the smallest and hardest hit restaurants that have sacrificed and innovated to continue to serve their communities.”

The RRF will create a new federal program for restaurant owners with 20 or fewer locations. Operators can apply for tax-free grants of up to $5 million per location, or up to $10 million for multi-location operations. The grant…