COLUMBUS, Ohio — A $28.6 billion restaurant relief fund approved in March in the American Rescue Plan began accepting grant applications on Monday, May 3, the latest round of stimulus for the industry.

The grants can amount up to $5 million — or $10 million for businesses with multiple locations — to make up for pandemic losses. 

For three weeks, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is taking applications in a priority round of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) for minority-, woman- and veteran-owned businesses. 

Shanika Sheppard, owner of The Water Ice Shoppe in Columbus, was among the thousands of business owners applying Monday for the first-come-first-served relief grants.

The grant fund will be a lifeline for her Italian ice stand, which is moving to a new, semi-permanent outdoor space at the Easton Town Center, among the first Black-owned businesses at the mall, she said.

With relief on the way, Sheppard said she attribution finally has hope following the most challenging year for her small business, which she opened after moving to Ohio from Philadelphia three years ago for a corporate retail job and realizing she could bring the “Philly flavor” to Columbus. 

“The Restaurant Revitalization Fund is going to be able to give small businesses grant money, so not a loan — the money doesn't have to get paid back — you'll be able to sustain the business, which is key given how corona has had a major impact to a lot of businesses across the U.S.,” Sheppard said. 

The pandemic resulted in a major financial hit for Sheppard’s business because all of the festivals and events where a water ice cart would be an attraction were on hold for a year. 

Officials pledged that this round of relief would be inclusive and provide relief to minority-owned businesses that may have missed out on previous rounds of stimulus relief. 

Sheppard said minority-owned businesses were impacted the most by COVID-19, so she is pleased the stimulus bill included relief specifically for businesses like hers. 

Restaurants will be able to apply until the funds are exhausted, officials said. The grants must be spent by March 2023, and proceeds from RRF grants can be applied to expenses dating back to Feb. 15, 2020.

For most businesses, the grant amounts will be based on the difference in gross receipts between 2019 and 2020, minus any PPP loans received. 

Sheppard said she received a PPP loan in the second iteration of the emergency payroll relief effort and knew that would factor into the calculation for her loan, but she was unsure exactly how much she would receive from the fund.

The National Restaurant Association in a statement Monday said the applications “may quickly exhaust the $28.6 billion in federal funding,” calling for policymakers to make more relief available soon. The organization estimates the industry has seen $270 billion losses related to the pandemic.

Sheppard said a grant would help her business remain afloat and stay on track toward her goal of moving into a storefront in 2022. It’s relief she wasn’t sure would ever come for mobile food businesses. 

“With the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, they've opened it up so that food trucks, trailers, pushcarts and mobile units that don't have a permanent home. (They) are able to apply and receive the grant money, which is key,” she said. 

Grants will be given to restaurants as well as coffee shops and bars, among other businesses. Some bakeries, brewpubs, tasting rooms, breweries, wineries and distilleries will be eligible for the grants, but they must demonstrate that in 2019 at least 33% of their sales were on premises. 

Sheppard said she would use the grant to cover payroll for a few staff, rent, supplies and marketing expenses for outreach to potential customers. 

With the aid, she will be able to add additional water ice offerings, and she can soon begin serving Philadelphia cheesesteaks, she said.