Proposed Restaurants Act provides $25B in relief if U.S. Congress approves

A devastating number of small, locally-owned restaurants have not been able to withstand the financial storm unleashed by COVID.

Mississippi’s United States Senator Roger Wicker has set the table for some possible much needed relief for restaurants and other similar establishments through the Restaurants Act U.S. Congress is now considering.

COVID’s effects have been far-reaching, something South Mississippi business owners Vernon and Jennifer Wilson know all too well. “Before COVID, we had three businesses. One of them was mainly a restaurant, which did not survive COVID, due to all the hardships and everything. The other two, we focus our attention on them. We’ve persevered, but not without pain.”

Boogie’s Grill and Chill in Biloxi is one of the Wilsons’ two restaurants that weathered the storm, but they’re still playing catch-up. COVID hit these restaurant owners and others like them hard and where it hurts, cutting into the bottom line. “It was necessary for us to get SBA loans, which are still loans. There was no free money other than the PPP assistance, which was critical for us to stay open and viable. It’s still a struggle today.”

But if the Restaurants Act passes, it could be a real game changer for the Wilsons and others like them across the nation. Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce CEO Adele Lyons said, “Right now, it’s in committee, both in the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate. We’re hoping to see some movement soon to see if this $25-billion dollars in grants would be available to restaurants all across the country including those here in Mississippi.”

The $25 billion restaurant revitalization fund allows up to $5 million in grant money that does not have to be paid back by qualifying businesses and would be calculated by subtracting the businesses 2020 revenue from the 2019 revenue. Mississippi Coast Restaurant and Beverage Association Executive Director Susan Perkins says this legislation can’t pass soon enough. “I think a lot of restaurants are just hanging on by the skin of their teeth. The PPP money that came through that helped some of them retain some of their employees, but a lot of them are just barely hanging on. I think this could be the saving grace for a lot of our smaller restaurants here.”

Vernon and Jennifer Wilson agree. “A lot of other restaurants and such have not survived. The ones that are continuing to persevere need all the assistance they can get.”