Keep L.A. County Dining Grant Program Application Has Reopened

Restaurants have been forced to close in L.A. County, except for delivery and takeout. | Courtesy photo by Drew Beamer on Unsplash

Technical issues resolved; new application portal created

The Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA) has resolved the technical issues that downed the Keep L.A. County Dining Grant Program application portal. A new application platform is reopened on Monday and will remain available until Tuesday at 5 p.m., or until 2,500 applications are received, whichever comes first. The application can be accessed at keeplacountydining.lacda.org. User accounts created within the previous system are no longer valid.

The LACDA has contacted registrants who submitted a completed application and advised that there is no need to re-register. Applicants who registered but were unable to complete the process have also been contacted via email and provided details on how to proceed. All other applicants will be required to re-register through the program’s new application portal.

The Keep L.A. County Dining Grant Program is a $5.6 million program that will provide restaurants with $30,000 grants to bolster them during this period of economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program was approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 24, and is supported by Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding.

Small businesses located in the County of Los Angeles, not including the cities of Los Angeles and Pasadena that can demonstrate that their business was impacted by COVID-19 through a hardship due to closure and a reduction in revenue, are eligible to apply. Businesses that have already received assistance from other Los Angeles County CARES Act programs are not eligible for this Program.
Eligible applicants include:

• Fixed brick and mortar locations with a full-service kitchen. (Popups and food trucks are not eligible).
• Restaurants with less than a total count of 25 employees at the time of application.
• Restaurants located within Los Angeles County, not including the cities of Los Angeles or Pasadena.
• Businesses with no more than five business locations. Those with multiple locations, but with five or less, may only submit one application.
• Non-corporate-owned franchises.
• Restaurants with a current inspection grade of “C” or better.
• Restaurants that were established and operating no later than March 4, 2020.

Funds will be divided equally throughout each Supervisorial District. An application list for each District will be based on the order in which applications are received with priority given to restaurants that provided outdoor dining as of Nov. 24, followed by restaurants without outdoor dining. Selected applicants will be notified of their status by the week of Dec. 21.

On Nov. 24, the Board of Supervisors also redirected an additional $10 million in CARES Act funding to continue its strategic response to the needs of the county’s small businesses, such as restaurants, that have been disproportionately impacted during the pandemic. These additional funds will be available to the business community during the first quarter of 2021.

For additional program information, please visit keeplacountydining.lacda.org or call (626) 943-3833. Questions regarding the grant program can be sent to keeplacountydining@lacda.org.