Wayne County offering assistance to restaurants

WAYNE COUNTY, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — The city of Richmond and Wayne County are working to help local restaurants stay afloat as the pandemic continues. A COVID-19 Restaurant Subsidy Program has been created to provide up to $3,000 for restaurants to cover rental, mortgage or utility payments.

The Economic Development Corp. of Wayne County says restaurants can apply for up to $1,000 in assistance per month for three months. Any funding awarded will be paid directly to landlords, mortgage holders or utility companies.

Restaurant owners interested in applying for funding must meet several criteria to be eligible. The requirements include:

• The business must be physically located in Wayne County and subject to payment of Wayne County taxes.
• Owner must reside in Wayne County.
• The business must be current on all property and payroll taxes.
• Business must be a restaurant, as evidenced by 70% of revenue generated by food sales. Indiana does not allow smoking in restaurants, so if smoking is allowed in your establishment, you are not eligible for this program.
• Restaurant was forced to shut down or operate at a reduced capacity by State or Local government because of a Public Health or Executive Order.
• Restaurant must have been operating at 100% capacity in Wayne County prior to March 15, 2020.
• Restaurant must be currently operational in some capacity.
• Restaurant must be experiencing a loss of at least 30% revenue over the same period last year for each month emergency commercial assistance is provided.
• Restaurant must have been current on their rent/mortgage payments as of March 15, 2020.
• Applicant must be following current CDC guidelines and be compliant with mandated protocol. If an applicant is cited for non-compliance at any time during the program, they will be denied further assistance.

The EDC says the program will remain in place through March 31 or until the allotted funding has been exhausted. You can learn more about the program by clicking here.

The funding is being provided by Wayne County, the city of Richmond, the EDC of Wayne County and the Economic Growth Group.