Restaurants, bars and related businesses in Arizona were approved for $294.5 million in Restaurant Revitalization Fund grants, but industry advocates are still hoping for additional money for the $28.6 billion COVID-19 relief program that quickly exhausted its funding.
The Small Business Administration last week released a list of the more than 101,000 businesses that were approved for funding from the program. You can find a searchable database of businesses approved for loans at the bottom of this story.
While consumers have been flocking to Valley restaurants the last few months as COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, the industry is still suffering with a labor shortage and restaurant owners are still suffering from large financial losses and debts they incurred in 2020.
A total of 1,325 restaurants in Arizona were approved RRF grants with an average grant size of $222,246.07. Nationally, the average grant size was $282,909 and nearly 43% of grants were for $100,000 or less.
A total of 66 businesses across the U.S. were approved for the maximum $10 million grants. The highest grant approved in Arizona was for $5 million. It was given to the Squire Motor Inns Inc., which owns and operates the Best Western Premier Grand Canyon Squire Inn in Tusayan just outside of Grand Canyon National Park.
