This week, Senator Maria Cantwell held a roundtable with restaurant owners from across the state advocating for additional funding for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF). Washington Hospitality Association President & CEO Anthony Anton moderated the discussion.
The RRF program administered $28.6 billion last year. However, one-third — or 170,000 eligible restaurants — did not receive RRF grants. The estimated need is $43 billion to fund unmet applications stuck in the queue.
In Washington, 7,236 eateries submitted applications for a total requested amount of more than $2 billion. Just 3,247 (44.9%) requests were approved.
This event provided an opportunity for restaurant owners to share their stories with Senator Cantwell and to call on Congress to provide additional relief when it returns in February.