. Sean Kennedy, executive vice president for public affairs at the National Restaurant Association, said that all priority group applicants who will not receive promised grant money have been notified. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Some business owners have seen their approved grants rescinded due to lawsuits and lack of additional action from Congress. The SBA announced the closure of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund with a final tally of how it awarded the programs $28.6 billion in funding. The programs administrator, the U.S. Small Business Administration, hadnt hidden that preference, just as it had acknowledged setting aside $5 billion of the funds $28.6 billion for very small restaurant companies. The $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund has only been processing and funding requests from businesses owned by women; veterans; or socially and We've never been in that position before," said Mariah Pisha-Duffly, a co-owner. In a similar lawsuit filed by Eric Nyman, owner of the Penn Hotel Sports & Raw Bar and Janice and Jason Smith, owners of the Lost Cajun in Keller, Texas, Judge Reed OConnor ruled on May 28 that the SBA must dole out grants in accordance with a race-neutral, sex-neutral first come, first served policy. The Lost Cajun was approved for an award on May 29, and though the Penn Hotel Sports & Raw Bars case was under review for slightly longer (since the restaurant sought more than $300,000), both restaurants received grants on June 1. The owner of a weddings and events business in New York City contacted couples to say she would soon be able to refund some of the money they put down as a deposit on their canceled 2020 weddings. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. A lawsuiton behalf of the operator of the Lost Cajun restaurantin Texaswas filed by America First Legal, a legal group founded by Stephen Miller and Mark Meadows, former aides to President Donald Trump, according to Reuters. Federal judges in Texas and Tennessee agreed, and the SBA halted all payments to priority applicants. 3.1.2023 2:50 PM, 2022 Reason Foundation | To proceed based on this interest, Defendants must provide a "strong basis in evidence for its conclusion that remedial action was necessary.". However, the SBA has a mandate to prioritize applications from women, veterans and persons from socially and economically disadvantaged groups for the first 21 days of the program. Ittook issue with the third-party delivery companiespromotions that waived delivery fees for Black-owned restaurants in the wake of George Floyds murder. Related: The Restaurant Revitalization Fund application portal is closing on May 24, When the government promulgates race-based policies, it must operate with a scalpel, the majority opinion stated. Veronique de Rugy A US federal judge issued a preliminary ruling Tuesday in favor of a white male restaurateur who claimed he had been discriminated against in connection to his While the Court is mindful of statistical disparities and expert conclusions based on those disparities, "[d]efining these sorts of injuries as 'identified discrimination' would give governments license to create a patchwork of racial preferences based on statistical generalizations about any particular field of endeavor." Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. | A $28.6 billion federal restaurant aid fund has in its first week received more than 266,000 applications from struggling restaurants, many of which come from the women- and minority-owned businesses the fund is prioritizing. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. | 2021 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. The case of alleged racial discrimination was launched by the Arizona Attorney Generals office in Nov. 2020. Trump successfully chilled FBI from being willing to investigate anything Christie: Trump grand jury foreperson did a lot of damage to case, Trumps polling strength causes heartburn for Senate GOP, Bill Maher: I am afraid of Trump on a very personal level. | Yet, as these restaurant owners, operators and workers try to pick up the pieces and rebuild their businesses, they are facing a new and insidious threat: racial discrimination from the government, he argued. According to the lawsuit, Janice Smith and Jason Smith applied for assistance from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund on May 5 and discovered that they were entitled to more than $187,000 in relief. Doing so will promote equal rights under the law for all American citizens and promote efforts to stop racial discrimination, the lawsuit adds, mirroring language included in AFLs, socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers., Few industries have been harder hit by lockdowns and restrictions than the restaurant and bar industry., Lawmakers trounce Lobbyists in annual charity hockey game, These four House Republicans broke with the GOP to oppose inflation estimates bill, Biden mocks Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene: Isnt she amazing?, Union rep: Employees reporting illness after working on cleanup for East Palestine derailment, Biden urges Democrats to tout policy wins: Let the people know who did it for them, Pence disagrees with Haleys call for competency tests: The American people can sort that out, Judge says Starbucks committed egregious and widespread labor violations fighting unions, Washington applauds private-sector insulin cap, one with similar complaints filed Wednesday, DeSantis pushes for dismissal of lawsuit brought by migrants sent to Marthas Vineyard, House Republicans plan to give Jan. 6 defendants access to security footage, Student loan forgiveness: Key statements from each justice, Top takeaways from student loan forgiveness arguments at the Supreme Court, The Memo: Lightfoot is latest Democrat to fall to anger over crime, Why a DC crime bill is creating big problems for Democrats, Trump successfully chilled FBI from being willing to investigate anything related to him: Peter Strzok. The Sixth Circuit court panel has ruled the prioritization of Restaurant Revitalization Fund loans on the basis of sex and race unconstitutional, 2023 Informa USA, Inc., All rights reserved, Denny's raises over $1.2 million to fight childhood hunger in 12th annual No Kid Hungry fundraiser, Bojangles names Tom Boland as new chief marketing officer, Baskin-Robbins rolls out chicken-and-waffle flavored ice cream, How Jersey Mike's is becoming 'America's sandwich shop', Nations Restaurant News launches new CREATE Roadshow event series, San Diegos Trust Restaurant Group drives retention, innovation with culture of yes, Tech Tracker: Restaurant QR codes are evolving and so should yours, SBA data confirms that the current Restaurant Revitalization Fund cant meet demand, The Restaurant Revitalization Fund application portal is closing on May 24, Allowed HTML tags:
. Registered in England and Wales. Most young women are not. Doing so will promote equal rights under the law for all American citizens and promote efforts to stop racial discrimination, the lawsuit adds, mirroring language included in AFLs lawsuit filed late last month against the Department of Agricultures program to provide aid to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers., Ina statement announcing the new lawsuit Thursday, Miller said, Few industries have been harder hit by lockdowns and restrictions than the restaurant and bar industry.. These business owners had their Restaurant Revitalization Fund grant applications approved as part of a program that prioritized traditionally underserved owners women, veterans, people of color, and other disadvantaged groups. 3.1.2023 4:21 PM, Eric Boehm The law The SBA, tasked with managing the relief funds, announced on May 10 that 16,000 businesses were approved for grants totaling $2 billion in just the first week. Her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Insider, Eater, the San Francisco Chronicle, and more. Based on the number of applications from the priority groups, Greer feared that the fund would run out of money before the SBA could get around to considering his application. Please enter valid email address to continue. She called the SBA's hotline and was told the money was on its way. The decision overturned a Tennessee federal judge's original ruling that declined a temporary restraining request from Antonio Vitolo, the owner of Jake's Bar and Grill LLC in Harriman, Tenn. 76 billion in funds far exceeding available funding 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG work... Was on its way prevailed in the other two actions informa PLC 's registered office is 5 Howick Place London! Judges in Texas and Tennessee agreed, and more is changing and there is so much going on, need. On, you need to adapt to change, '' she said under the program the! 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