US: Joe Biden buys tacos in a bid to promote ‘Restaurant Revitalization Fund’

US President Joe Biden on May 5 visited a Washington tacos restaurant in a bid to promote the newly opened ‘Restaurant Revitalization Fund’. According to Eater Washington DC, Biden ordered four tacos along with two quesadillas. Taqueria Las Gemelas’ chef Rob Aikens even shared a video of the US President clearly telling staff, “These are my tacos” and asking them if they ordered their own. 

The US President ordered takeout as DC allows dining rooms to operate at 25 per cent capacity right now. Biden said that whether its the country’s economy or sense of community, the government is relying on restaurants to play a big role in recovery. "That's what this program is about, a seat at the table for restaurants'', Biden said.

Restaurant Revitalization Fund

During his visit to the restaurant, Biden was promoting a $28.6 billion fund, which was authorised in the March 2021 stimulus bill in a bid to help restaurant and eateries that lost business because of the coronavirus pandemic. The White House said that nearly 186,200 restaurants, bars and other eligible businesses had applied for support through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund program over its first two days of accepting applications. Under the relief programme, restaurants and bars can qualify for grants equal to their pandemic-related revenue losses, with a cap of $10 million per business and $5 million per location.

According to the Associated Press, more than half of the applicants are owned by women, veterans or people from historically disadvantaged backgrounds. The pandemic was especially brutal for restaurants and the Labor Department even informed that the United States lost nearly 2,700 dining establishments through last summer. Nearly 1.8 million food service jobs have also been lost, though the sector has been gradually returning jobs since last May. 

Therefore, the programme, which is part of the Biden administration's broader $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, has set aside $9.5 billion for the smallest restaurants and bars, and a third of the applications were filed by businesses with annual pre-pandemic revenues of less than $500,000. For the programme’s first 21 days, applications from women, veterans and socially and economically disadvantaged people will have priority for being reviewed and funded, AP reported. 

(Image: Twitter)