Douglas County to provide grants to local restaurants

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - More help is coming to restaurants in Douglas County to get through the pandemic.

The Douglas County Board of Commissioners Tuesday approved spending $700,000 in federal ARPA funds to small restaurants.

Restaurants can apply for a grant of up to $10,000 if they were negatively impacted by the pandemic. It’s a first-come, first-served grant - so restaurants should apply quickly if they are eligible.

“These are main street businesses,” said Commissioner James Cavanaugh. “They employ people, they provide important services to our community. We all eat at various restaurants in the community. This is countywide and hopefully, this will be an incentive for us to look again at this heavily impacted private sector.”

Douglas County Commissioners have not yet released information on how to apply, but business owners interested in the grant can still find out if they qualify.

To qualify for a grant, a small business must meet the following criteria:

• Had revenues of under $1.25 million in 2021
• Is a restaurant currently operating in Douglas County
• Was negatively impacted by the pandemic (revenue and profits did not increase during the pandemic)
• The business owner applying for the grant must not own 51% or more of another business also applying for the grant

Business owners will need to provide the following information when applying:

• A copy of the first three pages from their 2021 business income tax return Form 1120, 1120S or 1065. Or a complete copy of Schedule C if they are a sole proprietor
• A copy of the most recently filed Nebraska Sales/Use Tax return
• Fully completed and signed Business Owner Attestation Form

The Board of Commissioners also approved directing $500,000 in federal ARPA funds to “I See It Ventures” - a small Ralston business that describes itself as an economic incubator that creates new jobs, new opportunities and new workforce housing. The business told the Board of Commissioners the pandemic caused the project to stall and that it needed help.

Copyright 2022 WOWT. All rights reserved.