Lackawanna County Business Relief Grant (Retail Food Services Industry) Program
The pandemic has taken a great toll on all types of small businesses in our community.
Normal operations have been interrupted and/or shut down on several occasions, causing grave economic hardships and in some cases permanent closure.
No sector has been hit as hard as the restaurant industry.
The Lackawanna County Commissioners Jerry Notarianni, Debi Domenick, Esq., and Chris Chermak are keenly aware of this issue and are “delivering” a program to provide emergency assistance to help this sector stay afloat and continue to serve the public in either a take-out or some streamlined manner.
The types of businesses eligible for the grant include: retail food service operations, bars, breweries, wineries and distilleries.
Under the program, a one-time $10,000 grant payment, subject to application approval, will be awarded. The resources can be utilized for expenses related to mortgage interest, rent, utilities, product/vendor costs, payroll, and general operating expenses.
Brenda Sacco, Director of Economic Development, explained that her department will be in charge of providing 100 grants at a $10,000 face value to qualified businesses. The department is also actively looking for additional revenue streams to offer even more assistance to this sector.
The businesses must employ fewer than 100 people as of February 15, 2020, been in business in our community as of the February 15, 2020, date, be non-franchised, locally owned, and have been impacted by the pandemic by shutting down or experiencing business loss/cutbacks.
One hundred percent of the grant funds must be used in Lackawanna County. All federal, state and local taxes must be current.
Upon grant approval, expenditures must be submitted within 60 days. The expenses must have been incurred during a March 1 – December 30 timeframe.
If the grantee fails to adhere to the Terms & Conditions of the grant, a refund must be made to Lackawanna County.
If a business recently received a COVID-19 Relief PA Statewide Small Business Assistance Grant from Lackawanna County, then it would not be eligible for this initiative.
For further details, visit the County’s webpage at www.lackawannacounty.org and click on the fuchsia button entitled “Lackawanna County Business Relief Grant (Retail Food Services Industry)” for information and to print an application.
The form can be emailed to [email protected], faxed to 570/963/7596, or dropped-off at the Lackawanna County Government Center, 123 Wyoming Avenue, Scranton.
Copies of the application will also be available in the Government Center’s vestibule.
The application deadline is Friday, December 18, at 4 PM.
