December 22, 2020
N. Santos/Visit Philadelphia™
Forty Philadelphia restaurants received $10,000 grants from Grubhub for winterization costs as outdoor dining persists.
Philadelphia restaurants will see some much-needed relief as city health officials extend dining restrictions into the new year.
Food delivery giant Grubhub and The Greg Hill Foundation distributed a total of $400,000 in grant money to 40 Philadelphia restaurants for winterization efforts.
The city banned indoor dining last month as COVID cases continued to rise. Those restrictions will stay in place through Jan. 15. With even colder weather on the horizon, restaurants need heaters, blankets and outdoor structures to stay in business through the winter.
Eateries that qualified for these grants were those with five or fewer locations and a completed application that outlined its plan for creating a safe, warm set up for the winter. Selected restaurants received $10,000.
The effort spanned the country, reaching restaurants in Chicago, New York, Boston and Philadelphia thanks to a $2 million grant from the Grubhub Community Relief Fund. Additional support came from the Greg Hill Foundation's Restaurant Strong Fund.
"This winter will be different from any one before, with the restaurants we know and love needing more support to get through the season," said Seth Priebatsch, chief revenue officer at Grubhub. "Our partnership with the Restaurant Strong Fund – already instrumental in providing grants for restaurant employee relief earlier in the pandemic – is now responding to the needs of restaurants and providing valuable support to help them survive the challenging months ahead."
Here are the Philadelphia-area grant recipients:
Alma del Mar
Barbuzzo
Bistro La Baia
Cafe Lift
Cantina Los Caballitos
Capriccio Cafe and Bar
Deke's Bar-B-Que
El Balconcito
El Rancho Viejo
El Taco & Burritos
Hilltown Tavern Fairmount
Hinge Cafe
Hong Kong Bakery Shop
Jasmine Rice Rittenhouse
Jet Wine Bar
La Fontana Della Citta
Local 44
Anthony Marra's Restaurant & Pizzeria
Martha
Mole Poblano
Oyster House
Philly’s Gourmet Steaks
Poe’s Sandwich Joint
Pumpkin
Queen & Rook Game Cafe
Ralph’s Italian Restaurant
Rex 1516
Sassafras
Seafood Unlimited
Sharkey's Grill & Ale House
The Sidecar Bar & Grille
Silk City
SouthHouse
The Lucky Well
Top Tomato Bar & Pizza
Urban Saloon
Veda
Vista Peru
Walnut Street Cafe
Yakitori Boy
Since the start of the pandemic, dozens of restaurants in Philly closed their doors for good — joining the nearly 100,000 restaurants that closed across the country.
The Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association said without additional federal or state funding, more than half of the state's restaurants could go out of business by the end of 2021, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported.
Luckily, a handful of grants and donations have come in to support restaurants during this tumultuous time. Delivery service DoorDash recently donated $300,000 to 60 Philadelphia eateries for winterization efforts. Each restaurant selected for those grants received around $5,000 in funding.
Barstool Sports Founder Dave Portnoy is also pushing a national fundraiser for restaurants affected by the pandemic to be doled out in monthly payments. Portnoy is putting in $500,000 for this relief and will crowdsource further funding to keep the effort sustainable.
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