Accessibility | The SBA previously dropped prioritization of women and minority-owned businesses and rescinded payments promised to almost 3,000 restaurants following these three lawsuits, 2023 Informa USA, Inc., All rights reserved, The Penn Hotel Sports and Raw Bar / Facebook, Denny's raises over $1.2 million to fight childhood hunger in 12th annual No Kid Hungry fundraiser, Bojangles names Tom Boland as new chief marketing officer, Baskin-Robbins rolls out chicken-and-waffle flavored ice cream, How Jersey Mike's is becoming 'America's sandwich shop', Nations Restaurant News launches new CREATE Roadshow event series, San Diegos Trust Restaurant Group drives retention, innovation with culture of yes, Tech Tracker: Restaurant QR codes are evolving and so should yours, Congress introduces a $60 billion replenishment of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, SBA data confirms that the current Restaurant Revitalization Fund cant meet demand, Allowed HTML tags: . One was an air ball., Go big or go home. 3.1.2023 4:21 PM, Eric Boehm There may be hope for those who missed a chance at funding. She's worried for the future of her restaurant, one of the only places in her area that serves locally sourced food at accessible prices. Instead, the next day, she received an email stating that her grant was canceled. The IRC offers several resources on its site including a tool to quickly contact elected representatives. 3807, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund Replenishment Act, calling for an additional $60 billion to be added to the fund. Support local journalism and become a digital subscriber to the Free Press. U.S. District Judge Travis R. McDonoughsoriginal ruling stated that the plaintiffs argument had failed to rebut the federal governments priority in halting the impacts of historical discrimination based on sex and race. Burlington Centrals Nicholas Gouriotis figures out the difference. Nation's Restaurant News is part of the Informa Connect Division of Informa PLC. Wendy's wants to open more restaurants, just not in ghost kitchens. Imagine relaxing with friends in your own backyard, sipping cocktails made from in-house infused spirits or wine from an eclectic selection. As of May 12, the Small Business Administration said those businesses had already applied for $29 billion, more than the fund's total amount. The temporary injunction issued by District Judge Reed OConnor allows the Small Business Administration to continue disbursing funds to non-priority applicants, according to Reuters, but its unclear when the more than 2,900 businesses whose applications were impacted by the injunction will be able to receive their funds. But they aren't the only restaurant owners waiting for much-needed government aid. TheSBAdoes not have a comment, however, theSBAis working to ensure the economic aid is accessible to all that are eligible, including those hit hardest, while protecting program integrity and ensuring as quick distribution as possible of the aid, a representative from the Small Business Administration said in a statement. "It seemed too good to be true, and it turned out that that was the case," said Tom Pisha-Duffly, chef and co-owner of Oma's Hideaway in Portland, Oregon. "Depending on what the landlord does, we could stay open, we could close tomorrow, if he decides to kick us out. Restaurants in Texas and Tennessee filed lawsuits against the SBA, arguing thatprioritizing the Restaurant Revitalization Fundtogroups based on race and gender is unconstitutional. The Associated Press reported Wednesday that women, veterans and socially and economically disadvantaged business owners have already applied for $29 billion in aid, accounting for more than 147,000 applications. Vitolo claimed in his lawsuit that he failed to receive a Restaurant Revitalization Fund grant after applying on May 3 because he is a white man. The group is appealing the decision. Heres What You Need to Know, Restaurant Group Joins Class-Action Suit Claiming Banks Mishandled PPP Applications, What the $900 Billion Stimulus Means for Restaurants: The Good, the Bad, and the Disappointing, With Restaurants in Crisis, the James Beard Foundation Has a New Mission, The American Restaurant Industry Is On Life Support, This Is the Only Way to Save the Restaurants You Love, Restaurant Relief Has Been Dropped from the Omnibus Spending Bill, As Coronavirus Shutters Restaurants Across the Country, a Swell of Support for Workers Rises Up, tool to quickly contact elected representatives. 3.1.2023 5:00 PM, Emma Camp The suit alleges that the Smiths are being subjected to unconstitutional race and sex discrimination by the priorities that the statute commands for minority- and women-owned businesses, and that because more than half of the requests for Restaurant Revitalization Fund monies were made by business owners under those categories, its possible that the entire $28.6 billion that Congress allocated to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund will be depleted before the plaintiffs can even be considered for relief under the program.. Of course, the Biden Administrations guidance does not prohibit white business owners from obtaining relief from the fund, it just requires that the Small Business Administration prioritize applications from women-owned, minority-owned, and veteran-owned businesses for the first 21 days that applications are open. We People drink outdoors March 31, 2021, on the patio of Big Dean's Ocean Front Cafe in Santa Monica, California. This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Veronique de Rugy Registered in England and Wales. | The broad statistical disparities cited by the government are not nearly enough., The dissenting opinion of the Sixth Circuit panel argued that the Biden Administration offered substantial evidence proving that minority-owned businesses were more vulnerable to economic distress than businesses owned by white entrepreneurs.. For the first 21 days, the fund was open for applications from women, individuals who are economically or socially disadvantaged, and veterans. A court in Texas issued a preliminary injunction preventing the SBA from disbursing funds to the priority group. A $28.6 billion federal restaurant aid fund has in its first week received more than 266,000 applications from struggling restaurants, many of which come from the women- and minority-owned businesses the fund is prioritizing. To proceed based on this interest, Defendants must provide a "strong basis in evidence for its conclusion that remedial action was necessary.". Defendants propose as the government's compelling interest "remedying the effects of past and present discrimination" by "supporting small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged small business owners who have borne an outsized burden of economic harms of [the] COVID-19 pandemic." {"Economically disadvantaged individuals are those socially disadvantaged individuals whose ability to compete in the free enterprise system has been impaired due to diminished capital and credit opportunities as compared to others in the same business area who are not socially disadvantaged. The $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund has only been processing and funding requests from businesses owned by women; veterans; or socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Ittook issue with the third-party delivery companiespromotions that waived delivery fees for Black-owned restaurants in the wake of George Floyds murder. But in late May, a number of federal lawsuits backed by conservative groups including one led by former Trump advisor Stephen Miller, derailed the fund's disbursement. Winsight is a leading B2B information services company focused on the food and beverage industry, providing insight and market intelligence to business leaders in every channel consumers buy food and beverage convenience stores, grocery retailing, restaurants and noncommercial foodservice through media, events, data products, advisory services, and trade shows. She's the founder of Expedite, a weekly restaurant technology newsletter highlighting news and big ideas about the future of the restaurant industry. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on June 11 ordered a halt to payments from the Small Business Administrations Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which is part of President Joe Bidens $1.9 trillion economic stimulus plan passed by She called the SBA's hotline and was told the money was on its way. More than 3,000 restaurants in Michigan permanently closed in 2020 due to the pandemic. A bipartisan group of lawmakers, according to the Hill,onJune 10 introduced the Restaurant Revitalization Fund Replenishment Actof2021 to add an additional $60 billion to the fund. Miller went on to say that the decision from the Biden Administration to determine eligibility and priority for restaurant relief funds based upon race is profoundly illegal and morally outrageous.. Uno to sell frozen pizza business to Great Kitchens Food Co. Red Robin's recovery gets off to a fast start. Genevieve Vang feels like one of the lucky ones. Nearly 3,000 approved applicants, all women and people in groups deemed most in need, were told they wouldn't get their funds following legal challenges to the selection process. CBS News reporter covering economic policy. The SBA received requests for more than triple the allocated funds. "This is critical in the first-come first-served program in order to ensure that those businesses are able to apply," she said. The fund launched May 3 as partof the American Rescue Plan Act. thelawsuitbrought by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund, Oswego Easts Jehvion Starwood steps up with winning 3-pointer in OT. In mid-June, the SBA told nearly 3,000 restaurants that they would not receive grant money they were promised because of the federal lawsuits. During that window, ARPA directs SBA to "take such steps as necessary" to prioritize eligible restaurants "owned and controlled" by "women," by "veterans," and by those "socially and economically disadvantaged." The Sixth Circuit court panel has ruled the prioritization of Restaurant Revitalization Fund loans on the basis of sex and race unconstitutional, 2023 Informa USA, Inc., All rights reserved, Denny's raises over $1.2 million to fight childhood hunger in 12th annual No Kid Hungry fundraiser, Bojangles names Tom Boland as new chief marketing officer, Baskin-Robbins rolls out chicken-and-waffle flavored ice cream, How Jersey Mike's is becoming 'America's sandwich shop', Nations Restaurant News launches new CREATE Roadshow event series, San Diegos Trust Restaurant Group drives retention, innovation with culture of yes, Tech Tracker: Restaurant QR codes are evolving and so should yours, SBA data confirms that the current Restaurant Revitalization Fund cant meet demand, The Restaurant Revitalization Fund application portal is closing on May 24, Allowed HTML tags: . At The Weisblatt Firm, our legal team supports all types of businesses, including hedge funds. Lines and paragraphs break automatically. The $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund has only been processing and funding requests from businesses owned by women; veterans; or socially and