About $5.65 million in state grants could be used for financial relief for Montgomery County restaurants and hotels, as well as to establish a new online sales and telework program.
Of the $5.65 million, $3.83 million would be used for the county’s Restaurant Relief Program, which provides grants to restaurants, food trucks, caterers, wineries, and breweries that provide food service.
The program would also include individual locally owned franchised restaurants; restaurants in hotels; and restaurants in arts, entertainment and recreational facilities.
Businesses qualify for grants through the program if they:
● Have their principal place of business in the county
● Are in good standing with the state
● Require financial assistance to pay for expenditures permitted by the state though its appropriation to the county
● Have not used, and will not use, funds received from this grant for the same purpose as funds received through other county grant programs
Up to $10,000 would be provided to each eligible business through the Restaurant Relief Program. Businesses are not eligible if they have permanently closed.
Another $1.74 million would go to the Hotel Relief Program to assist hotels, motels and bed-and-breakfast inns that:
● Are part of a franchise with multiple locations of businesses that are owned by a Maryland franchise
● Are in good standing with the state
● Require financial assistance to pay for the expenditures by the state though its appropriation to the county
● Have not used, and will not use, funds received from this grant program for the same purposes as funds received through other county grant programs
Each eligible business would receive up to $25,000.
The remaining $86,977 would be used for a new Online Sales Grant Program to provide up to $5,000 to each eligible business to set up an online sales system and offer employees telework options.
Businesses are eligible for the new program grants if they:
● Were established prior to March 9, 2020
● Are in good standing with the state
● Have a physical location in the county
● Do not have more than 20 employees, excluding the owner
Grant priority will be given to applicants who did not receive a COVID-19 Business Relief Grant or Loan from the Maryland Department of Commerce.
The state grants would fund the allocations as part of the Recovery for the Economy, Livelihoods, Industries, Entrepreneurs, and Families (RELIEF) Act of 2021.
Public hearings and votes for the program funding are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on May 18.
Briana Adhikusuma can be reached at briana.adhikusuma@moco360.media.