USA | The California Restaurant Foundation has come to the aid of struggling hospitality businesses with grants distributed across the state.
Locally-owned Northern and Central California restaurants and a few commercial caterers have received a financial boost from the California Restaurant Foundation and The PG&E Corporation Foundation through grants to invest in equipment upgrades, workforce training and more.
The grants reflected a commitment to strengthen restaurants for long-term business success so they can continue contributing to local economies and communities.
The PG&E Foundation's USD $900,000 charitable contribution this year is funding USD $5,000 grants to 154 hometown restaurants in 29 counties in Pacific Gas and Electric Company's (PG&E) service area, as well as operating support for the California Restaurant Foundation, which administers the grant program. The funding comes from PG&E shareholders, not customers.
The PG&E Foundation's contribution to the California Restaurant Foundation's Restaurants Care Resilience Fund current grant cycle will help grantees pay for equipment and technology upgrades, unforeseen hardship, employee retention bonuses and training to help restaurant owners invest in their business and people. Grants were made available to California resident restaurant owners with fewer than five locations and less than USD $3 million in revenue, and prioritised minority- and women-owned businesses.
For the first time this year, the grants were open to commercial caterers based on appeals for support for catering companies because they also are part of the local food scene.
Plant Slayer, which started out as a food truck in 2020 before becoming a brick-and-mortar establishment in downtown Fresno two years ago, is one of the recent grant recipients.
"Running a restaurant is really difficult in California. Fees, employees, the cost of goods going up — and you put the word vegan in front of that, and it costs more," co-owner Gina Perez said.
"We were excited that we were one of the restaurants chosen."
Perez said she is mostly looking forward to giving bonuses to Plant Slayer's five employees who have been especially dedicated to seeing the business succeed.
Since 2021, PG&E and the PG&E Foundation have contributed USD $3.2 million in funding to the California Restaurant Foundation's Restaurants Care Resilience Fund providing grants ranging from USD $3,000 to USD $5,000.
With this year's funding, PG&E has now helped provide grants for a total of 675 restaurants and caterers in Northern and Central California.
"We all have fond memories of celebrating special occasions with the people we love at our hometown restaurants — with good meals at the centre. They truly are the gathering spots in our communities. Through our partnership with the California Restaurant Foundation, we want to make sure these neighbourhood businesses, many of them family-owned and operated, continue to thrive for years to come," said PG&E Corporation Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer Carla Peterman.
"Since the launch of the Restaurants Care Resilience Fund in 2021, PG&E and the PG&E Foundation have been steadfast and generous supporters, helping hundreds of independent restaurant owners throughout Northern and Central California strengthen their businesses for the future," said Alycia Harshfield, Executive Director of the California Restaurant Foundation.
The California Restaurant Foundation began the Resilience Fund in 2021 to support restaurants recovering from economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which contributed to many restaurants closing their doors temporarily or permanently. PG&E and The PG&E Corporation Foundation have supported the program since its inception.
To date, the California Restaurant Foundation's Resilience fund has provided financial assistance to more than 1,600 independent restaurants and caterers across California.
Among this year's grant recipients, 80 percent are single-location establishments with an average 10 years in business, 79 percent of recipients identify as female and 76 percent of owners identify as minority. Some 70 percent of this year's recipients plan to use the USD $5,000 grants for kitchen equipment or technology upgrades, and 21 percent will dedicate the funds to employee retention bonuses.
More news here.
