Kansas City-area restaurants can apply for federal funds to help stay in business

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After a brutal year for restaurants, the American Rescue Plan gives business owners a lifeline as $26 billion in grants are available to keep restaurants open. V’S Italiano Ristorante has been serving meals in Independence for 58 years. The restaurant’s best year was 2019, then the pandemic hit.”It was quite the eyeopener if you will to see the breaks go on that fast and things change that fast,” said Greg Hunsucker, of V’s.Hunsucker said that even with Paycheck Protection help, carryout and delivery sales,the restaurant lost $660,000 and they consider themselves lucky.”We’re just one little operation. That’s a lot of money,” Hunsucker said.Last year, 110,000 restaurants closed in the U.S.”The weak ones were gone fast. The marginal ones are still struggling and closing up by the day, so this relief is needed for this industry,” Hunsucker said.The Restaurant Revitalization Fund offers $26.8 billion in grants, bringing sales up to pre-pandemic levels. There’s a $5 million cap per location. For most restaurants, financially it’s as if the pandemic didn’t happen.”It means that we’re going to continue to be able to be here. We’re able to reinvest into our property. We are able to reinvest into our employees and give us the opportunity to stretch it out a little further,” Hunsucker said.Hunsucker said he believes the pandemic will continue to affect restaurants for at least a year. He said he is grateful the National Restaurant Association helped make this happen.”They went to bat for restaurants specifically, and they were relentless and they would not back down,” he said.Women, minority- and veteran-owned restaurants have priority during the first 21 days.Grants are first come, first served until the money runs out. The application is online.