Action Alert: Tell Congress to Replenish RRF Now

Tell Congress: Now is the Time to Replenish RRF

Today, the IRA and the National Restaurant Association are kicking off a new campaign in our push to get the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) finally replenished. We are releasing the results of a new survey that prove what we have always known – that the RRF saved jobs and restaurants for those that received a grant, but those on the outside are seeing business conditions worsen as winter and the Omicron variant reduce sales and threatens closures.

Survey results from Illinois restaurant operators include:

• 97% experienced a decline in customer demand for indoor on-premises dining in recent weeks
• 92% say business conditions are worse now than 3 months ago.
• 77% say their sales volume in 2021 was lower than it was in 2019.
• 98% of RRF recipients said the grant made it more likely that they would be able to stay in business during the pandemic.
  • The National Restaurant Association estimates that over 45,000 restaurant jobs in Illinois were saved as a result of the initial round of RRF grants.
• 54% that applied for an RRF grant but did not receive funding said it is unlikely that they will be able to stay in business beyond the pandemic, if they do not receive a grant through the RRF.
• 96% of restaurant operators that applied for an RRF grant but did not receive funding said a future grant would enable them to retain or hire back employees that would otherwise have been temporarily or permanently laid off.
  • The National Restaurant Association estimates that future grants awarded after a full replenishment of the RRF will potentially save more than 110,000 restaurant jobs in Illinois that are currently at risk.

The Senate is on track to pass a government spending bill sometime next month, and this could be our last chance to get RRF replenished. We need to be clear, loud, and engaged. 

Please take one minute now to tell our Congressional leaders to cosponsor RRF replenishment and ensure it's added to any spending bill. You'll be hearing more from us on this issue in the coming weeks.

Click here to take action.