Lake Elsinore, Wildomar Restaurant Owners Urged To Apply For Grants

CALIFORNIA — Lake Elsinore and Wildomar restaurant owners are encouraged to apply for thousands of dollars in grant funding that can be used for kitchen equipment, technical upgrades, employee training and bonuses, and to address unforeseen hardships.

The grants are $5,000 each and are funded by donations from SoCalGas, PG&E, and SDG&E to the California Restaurant Foundation’s Restaurants Care Resilience Fund.

Independent restaurants with one to five locations and less than $3 million in annual revenue are eligible to apply for the funding. Priority will be given to restaurants that have yet to receive a grant, but previous recipients are urged to re-apply.

The foundation is offering both a spring granting cycle and a fall granting cycle in 2023. In the current spring cycle, applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. May 7. Find more information here, including the application.

It is expected that Restaurants Care will help 366 independent California eateries this year, according to the foundation.

Since 2021, the Restaurants Care Resilience Fund has awarded grants to 788 independent restaurants throughout California, according to the foundation. Restaurants Care was created in 2017 as a safety net for food and beverage workers.