Governor Laura Kelly Encourages Kansas Restaurants Apply for Restaurant Revitalization Fund Grants

TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly today urged Kansas restaurants and eligible businesses in the hospitality industry to apply for federal funding through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF). Registration for the RRF began on Friday, April 30, 2021, at 8 AM CT and applications will open on Monday, May 3, 2021, at 11 AM CT.

“These RRF grants will boost our hospitality industry and aid our continued economic recovery as we get our state back to normal,” said Governor Laura Kelly. “I strongly encourage all eligible businesses to apply for this program and thank the SBA for their partnership to provide relief for Kansas businesses.”

The SBA will be co-hosting a webinar for Kansas businesses with the Governor’s Office of Recovery, the Kansas Department of Commerce and the Kansas Department of Agriculture on Wednesday, May 5 at 9 AM CT. Learn more about the webinar at https://covid.ks.gov/rrf/.

“Restaurants are vital to our state’s hospitality sector, and this program exists solely to help them,” Lieutenant Governor and Commerce Secretary David Toland said. “Hospitality businesses have been incredibly resilient through this historic and unprecedented challenge, and restaurants have had to be creative to get through the storm. This program is a lifeline for them, and I would encourage all Kansas restaurant owners who need help to take full advantage.”

The American Rescue Plan Act established the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) to provide funding to help restaurants and other eligible businesses keep their doors open. This program will provide restaurants with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss, up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location. Recipients are not required to repay the funding as long as funds are used for eligible uses no later than March 11, 2023.

Entities eligible for the RRF include:

• Restaurants;
• Food stands, food trucks, food carts;
• Caterers;
• Bars, saloons, lounges, taverns;
• Snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars;
• Additional entities if onsite food or beverage sales are at least 33% of gross receipts (e.g. Bakeries, brewpubs, tasting rooms, taprooms, breweries and/or microbreweries, Wineries and distilleries, Inns).

“Restaurants and the food service industry are critical to the economic wellbeing of our communities,” said Michael Barrera, District Director, SBA-KC District. “Restaurants are gathering places for our cities and towns and are where many milestones and everyday conversations take place in our lives. The RRF will help keep these ‘centers of influence’ going and we here at the SBA look forward to working with our Kansas partners to make this program a Kansas success!”

“The RRF provides critical support to restaurants, food trucks, small caterers, coffee shops and other food service companies hit hard by the pandemic,” said Wayne Bell, District Director, SBA-Wichita District. “We want Kansas small businesses to be fully prepared for this opportunity.”

“As we look toward the future, it is crucial that we support the restaurant industry in every way we can,” said Ryan Wills, Kansas Department of Commerce Hospitality Industry Liaison. “Food service organizations provide nourishment to our community not just through food, but also through fellowship. They are essential to our economic vitality, and the Department of Commerce is looking forward to the RRF providing much needed relief to businesses across our great state.”

Learn more about the RRF and apply at https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/covid-19-relief-options/restaurant-revitalization-fund.