Grants offered for restaurants hurt by pandemic slowdown

The Mt. Pleasant Chamber of Commerce is encouraging Mt. Pleasant restaurants to apply for the new COVID-19 relief grant. Gov. Kim Reynolds directed $40 million in federal CARES act to financially assist Iowa restaurants and bars that have been affected by the pandemic in a grant called the Iowa Restaurant and Bar Relief Program.

'I think it's a very good thing,” said Kristi Perry, executive vice president of the Mt. Pleasant Chamber of Commerce. 'The state has done an excellent job coming up with pools of funds for different businesses affected by the pandemic, and this is no different.”

The relief program is set up for full-service restaurants, bars, breweries, brewpubs, distilleries and wineries that have seen a 15 percent or greater decrease in gross sales from the second and third quarters of 2020 (from April 1 to Sept. 30). The amount of the grant received will not be determined by a first-come, first-served basis, but rather a tiered system based on percentage decrease in sales.

'Our restaurants have really been hurt by this pandemic, operating at 50 percent capacity or even fully closed down, and I think this grant will really help them out,” Perry said. 'The key is that the restaurants have to apply though.”

'Unfortunately, paperwork is what it takes to survive right now, and our restaurants need to ask for help. In regards to the grant application, we'll do what we can to help them understand the process, but it's up to them to get it done and submitted.”

The Iowa Restaurant and Bar Relief Program is currently accepting applications until Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. More information can be found at iowaeda.com/covid-funding-programs/restaurant-bar/.