‘Raising the Bar’ Restaurant Recovery Fund Announced

Empire State Development is offering grants of up to $5,000 for restaurants adjusting to COVID-19 safety guidelines. The $3M+ Raising the Bar Restaurant Recovery Fund—supported by Diageo North America, Coastal Pacific Wine & Spirits (a division of Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits), National Development Council and ESD—offers NYS restaurants up to $5K to support COVID-19-related upgrades.

“Raising the Bar” grant funding can be used for COVID-19-related improvements and equipment that will allow the business to comply with social distancing guidelines, expand take-out/delivery operations, or accommodate outdoor dining such as plexiglass barriers/partitions, signage promoting social distancing and hygiene protocols, heaters, heat lamps, weatherization upgrades and insulated delivery bags; improvements that will allow the business to continue operating through the winter months such as filtration system upgrades and food heaters to maintain temperature for to-go orders and purchasing PPE and sanitation supplies necessitated by the pandemic; and COVID-19 related business improvements like patio heaters or contactless technology. Qualifying purchases and expenditures must be from September 1, 2020 onwards to be eligible. Initial round of grants are up to $5,000.

Initial grant funding will be awarded based on the received applications and dispersed independently by NDC, an experienced national economic non-profit that has been in operation since 1969.

Restaurants can apply to the “Raising the Bar Restaurant Recovery Fund” starting Monday, January 11, 2021. For more information visit the ESD website at https://esd.ny.gov/raising-bar-restaurant-recovery-fund.