Small restaurants like mine need Congress to right a wrong and replenish the RRF before it's too late

As a veteran, I know what it’s like to struggle, to endure not only physical exhaustion, but emotional and mental exhaustion as well. I served our country for six years in the Army, and for the past two years, I’ve been struggling through a battlefield that is certainly different, and yet in many ways, it feels the same. I’m a small restaurant owner in Texas who is running on fumes.

Last summer I thought we were finally going to get some help, but in a maddening series of events, the fact that I’m a veteran worked against me when I tried to use an underfunded but critical lifeline Congress created for small and independent restaurants known as the Restaurant Revitalization Fund or RRF. 

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Two of the four restaurants I operate with my brother and chef qualified for the RRF and I was even invited to help beta test the application portal. After a few weeks of back-and-forth, one of my restaurants received an official award letter from the government. 

I felt tremendously relieved as the grant would finally give us a chance to recover from so much turmoil. But 15 days later, I was one of 2,965 approved applicants who received a devastating email stating, "We regret to inform you that, due to recent court rulings, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will not be able to disburse your Restaurant Revitalization Fund award."

I remember reading this email as I was standing in the restaurant looking at our staff working; complete sadness and frustration swept over me. Relief had not come after all. We soon learned that both of our restaurants were at the back of the line because lawsuits had blocked the prioritization process that honored veterans like me. And making matters even worse, the RRF was out of money.

I hesitated to share my story because my service is an honor, and I don’t want to abuse it for personal means. So many have sacrificed more for this country. However, I feel that I have a duty to be a voice for others who have experienced the same fate with the RRF.

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The original RRF funding only helped about one-third of the eligible restaurants who applied. Over 12,000 of the restaurants who were left in the dark are in Texas, and business conditions have only deteriorated since then. Not only did the omicron variant weaken critical holiday-season sales, but we continue to navigate supply chain disruptions, inflation, and workforce shortages that make it incredibly difficult to break even. 

Many restaurants have been forced to close, and many others are barely hanging on, drowning in new debt they’ve accumulated to survive.

As a small business operator, particularly in the restaurant industry, I expected challenges. And even as a veteran, I never expected special treatment. But when the government requires your business to close and lose money for months on end, and then creates a program to help you recoup just a portion of the losses, you at least expect to be treated fairly.

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The RRF did not treat me fairly. And that doesn’t hurt just me, it hurts the people in my community who depend on my family’s restaurants. It hurts us financially, to the point that our businesses may not be able to survive this pandemic.

That’s a gut-wrenching truth to admit after nearly two years of struggle, but I know it’s the truth for me and thousands like me.

The RRF did not treat me fairly. And that doesn’t hurt just me, it hurts the people in my community who depend on my family’s restaurants. It hurts us financially, to the point that our businesses may not be able to survive this pandemic.

I also must admit that the hurt extends beyond finances, adding one more setback to a two-year cycle that has taken a physical, mental, and emotional toll on all of us who are worried not just for ourselves, but for everyone who depends on us.

There is a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Washington, D.C., who recognize the injustice of this situation and want to replenish the RRF. There’s disagreement about the best way to do it, whether we should find new money or repurpose existing funds. 

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To every lawmaker, I want to say on behalf of myself, my family’s businesses, and the 177,000 other eligible local restaurants who didn’t receive RRF funding: please make this a priority now. 

We cannot let politics or apathy stop us as a nation from righting a wrong that continues to hurt small businesses and families in every community across the U.S. We must replenish the RRF immediately.

Brandon Luke is the majority partner of HattenLuke Hospitality Group, a family-run, Dallas-based restaurant and event team that currently operates four restaurant concepts—The Woolworth, Smithy on Henderson, Uno Mas Henderson, and Uno Mas Downtown. Luke was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army after serving for six years.