California Restaurant Foundation offers grants to Orange County restaurants
Running a small, independent restaurant has never been easy. But over the past couple of years, the pandemic and inflation have made things tougher for myriad small business owners who prepare and serve meals to diners in Orange County.
“Whoever is still in business may seem like they are doing well, but everyone that is doing OK now in 2022, you have to remember they got punched real hard in the face in 2020 and 2021,” said Paul Cao, chef and owner of Burnt Crumbs in Irvine.
In response to the challenges the industry faces, the California Restaurant Foundation is offering $3,000 grants to independent restaurant owners in Los Angeles, Orange County, the Inland Empire and Central California through the Restaurants Care Resilience Fund. The nonprofit, dedicated to investing in and empowering California restaurants and their workforce, ran a similar program last year.
“This is a granting program we started in 2021, in response to COVID,” said Alycia Harshfield, executive director of the foundation. “We are continuing this year, offering grants directly to small, independent restaurants with fewer than three locations and an annual revenue of less than $3 million to help with rebuilding through the pandemic.”
Last year’s fund awarded 318 grants to independent restaurant owners in eight California counties, though Orange County restaurants were unable to apply. This is the first year O.C. restaurants, like Burnt Crumbs, are eligible.
The Resilience Fund is an extension of the assistance the foundation gives year round. Its Restaurants Care program has helped restaurant workers at the heart of the business since 2017, giving grants to industry workers who experience illness, injury or other crises.
The grants are made possible by a partnership with California’s utilities companies and Wells Fargo Bank. The California Restaurant Foundation received nearly $1,500,000 for this year’s fund, with SoCalGas providing the lead gift of $525,000, and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and San Diego Gas and Electric returning with contributions of $500,000 and $175,000, respectively. Rounding out the fund is a $250,000 donation from Wells Fargo.
“It was incredibly inspiring to read the stories of resilience from last year’s recipients and help them keep their doors open,” said David Barrett, vice president and general counsel at SoCalGas, the fund’s lead sponsor. “This time around, we’re addressing longer term investments that will build a strong, stable foundation for our independent restaurant owners.”
While Burnt Crumbs wasn’t eligible for the Resilience Fund last year, Cao said the eatery received funding through the Paycheck Protection Program and the Restaurant Revitalization Fund in 2020 that helped his restaurant stay in business.
“That kind of got us out of the hole a little bit,” said Cao. “Then the second round of PPP came towards the end of that year, and that saved us in terms of our staff … The second round allowed us to give most of the staff raises.”
Harshfield said that is the goal for grants like the Resilience Fund.
“We want to make it possible for small restaurant owners to thank and recognize their staff that has stuck with them,” said Harshfield.
This year’s grants can be applied toward kitchen equipment or retention bonuses for employees.
“We are really focusing on the two things that keep restaurants running: kitchens and crews,” said Harshfield.
Many restaurants put off maintenance or faced kitchen equipment failures they couldn’t afford to take care of during shutdowns, Harshfield said.
“But we also have seen restaurants are reporting staffing shortages,” he added.
According to the National Restaurant Assn., nearly four in five restaurants are understaffed, and 68% of restaurants have reduced operating hours due to staffing shortages.
Burnt Crumbs is among those establishments that switched up operating hours to survive. The restaurant is a sandwich concept and part of Cao’s “Burnt Family” that includes concepts like Burntzilla, Dogzilla and the Burnt Truck. Cao saw an untapped market in the breakfast arena and swapped dinner service for a brunch menu, adding fluffy soufflé pancakes and mimosas at the Irvine location and changing the hours to 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m.
Applications for the Resilience Fund, made online, will open April 15 and close on April 30. They will not be awarded on a first-come first-serve basis but rather reviewed by committee, Harshfield said, and all will be reviewed.
“The other unique thing about our application from other grants that have been given to restaurants is we include a section for the restaurant owner to talk about their business,” said Harshfield. “What this grant would mean to them and how this grant would help them, so we can understand their story.”
Eligible applicants should be currently open for business, located in California with one to three locations and have less than $3 million in annual revenue. Restaurants that receive a grant from the Resilience Fund will join a cohort of grant recipients and receive one year of business support services and resources to support their businesses long-term. Restaurants will be notified if their application was approved or declined around May 31.
Cao said funding like this can help more than just the restaurants.
“Thanks to the aid and the grants, we were able to keep jobs, and you know what kind of ripple effect that has,” said Cao, “in terms of our staff, their families, their children or their parents they are taking care of. It has major ripple effects — it’s not just the business.”
Does Cao see Burnt Crumbs applying for the Resilience Fund?
“Absolutely,” he said. “Any sort of grant right now is still putting bandages on previous cuts from the pandemic.”
Restaurants can apply at restaurantscare.org
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