Miami-Beach-Restaurant-Reimbursement-Grant
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City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139, www.miamibeachfl.gov
OFFICE OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS, Tel: 305.673.7575 PRESS RELEASE
Tonya Daniels, E-mail: tonyadaniels@miamibeachfl.gov
Melissa Berthier, E-mail: melissaberthier@miamibeachfl.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2020
Miami Beach Commission Delivers $60,000 Grant to
Hard-Hit Restaurant Industry
— The grant money will be used to reimburse restaurants for some of the delivery fees
they incurred during the pandemic —
Miami Beach, FL — The Miami Beach Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to deliver
$60,000 in grant money to help the city’s hard-hit restaurant industry.
“Small businesses are what help a City feel like a community – and they have been hit
especially hard by the pandemic,” said Mayor Dan Gelber. “This funding will help our mom and
pop restaurants by filling in for some of their incurred fees as they shifted to delivery-centric
business models in order to operate while keeping customers safe.”
Each eligible restaurant will receive up to $1,000 under a Miami Beach Restaurant
Reimbursement Grant that will be on a first-come, first-qualified, first-served basis through an
online application process that opens on Nov. 1. The available funds will allow the city to assist
approximately 10 percent of the total 628 restaurants that were registered in Miami Beach as of
Oct. 7, including 581 restaurant/bar businesses, 37 takeout restaurants and 10 restaurant-only
businesses.
“We want to do everything we can to give our restaurants a fighting chance of surviving the
pandemic,” added Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Góngora, who sponsored the measure.
“Restaurants generally pay out as much as 30% of the cost of each order to third-party delivery
services and 15% for services that simply take orders.”
The Miami Beach Neighborhood and Quality of Life Committee at its Oct. 19 meeting
recommended that the Miami Beach Commission take action to approve the Miami Beach
Restaurant Reimbursement Grant program.
Although restaurants were permitted to remain open during the pandemic, their indoor dining
areas were closed for a time and capacity continues to be limited for in-person dining amid
social distancing and health requirements.
“This will help local restaurants whose margins were tight even before the pandemic,”
explained South Florida Regional Director Lynne M. Hernandez of the Florida Restaurant
and Lodging Association, which has more than 10,000 members.
The Miami Beach Restaurant Reimbursement Grant is open to restaurants in the city that are
not part of a chain or franchise. Mobile food trucks, pop-up restaurants, carts, restaurants
We are committed to providing excellent public service and safety to all who live, work and play in our vibrant, tropical, historic community.
within hotels, nightclubs, bars without restaurants and home-based businesses are not eligible
to apply. Participating restaurants may not have any outstanding code violations, liens, pending
litigation, outstanding ad valorem property taxes and must meet all other program
requirements.
Interested applicants should visit https://miamibeachfl.gosmart.org to review program
guidelines and login or create a new profile to preview the application. Applications will be
accepted beginning on Sunday, Nov. 1 at 8 a.m.
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