Hard-hit LA restaurants get some Covid relief cash

Covid restrictions have been loosening up across Los Angeles and California but businesses are still hurting.

Now, 132 L.A. County restaurants have been awarded grants of up to $3,500 each to help them recover from the pandemic, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. The eateries will also have access to discounts, training, and business consultation services for the next year, according to the report.

The California Restaurant Foundation selected the recipients from a $1.25 million fund from three large utilities: Southern California Gas Company, PG&E, and San Diego Gas and Electric. Wells Fargo provided $250,000 for the training and other services.

Around 1,000 businesses statewide applied for the grants and 318 were chosen. San Diego County restaurants received 77 grants, the second highest total.

Only small businesses were eligible. Restaurants could have just one location, employ fewer than 50 people and have reported a 20 percent revenue loss between 2019 and 2020.

Other programs to prop up struggling restaurants are in the works at the local and federal levels. L.A. County made $30,000 federally funded grants available to 2,500 restaurants late last year.

Nationwide, the Biden Administration also launched a $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which received 186,200 applications within its first two days online.
And New York state created a $3 million small restaurant fund this year, which will award grants of up to $5,000 each.

[LADN] — Dennis Lynch