11 Apr Local Restaurants Invited to Apply for $5,000 Grants

Jeronica Macey, left, and Be’Anka Ashaolu, founders of Nirvana Soul Soul Coffee, at their coffeeshop in Santa Clara on Sept. 25, 2020. The business is one of over 1,600 independently owned restaurants to receive a $5,000 Restaurant Cares Resilience Fund grant to support essential business needs. (Ben Green / California Restaurant Foundation via Bay City News)

By Sarah Stierch
Bay City News

Applications opened Wednesday for the annual Restaurant Cares Resilience Fund which will award $5,000 grants to over 230 restaurants across the state, the California Restaurant Foundation said.

The fund was created in 2021 by the foundation in response to the economic impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on the restaurant industry. The foundation is the nonprofit arm of the California Restaurant Association, a lobbying group that advocates for the restaurant industry.

The grant is partially funded by the PG&E Corporation Foundation.

Since the fund’s inception, 1,603 independently owned restaurants have received $7.3 million in grants, including hundreds of restaurants in the Bay Area, the restaurant foundation said.

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To be eligible, restaurants must be in PG&E’s service area, have no more than five locations, and generate less than $3 million in annual revenue per location.

According to the foundation, the grants can be used for technology upgrades, kitchen equipment, employee training and unexpected hardships.

The fund is meant to help restaurants be more resilient in the face of adversity, Alycia Harshfield, president of the restaurant foundation said.

“The Resilience Fund was born out of a deep commitment to California’s independent restaurants and the passionate people behind them who pour their hearts into every meal they serve,” she said.

Restaurant Cares Resilience Fund grant applications are open now through April 26. More information can be found at https://restaurantscare.org/resilience-general.

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