Program Description:
Applicant Eligibility
Must have a brick-and-mortar location physically located within the City of Cincinnati

Must be either:

• A restaurant that typically serves dine-in breakfast, lunch, or dinner¹ OR
• A bar establishment, licensed by the State of Ohio

Must be open a minimum of 4 days or 20 hours per week to customers throughout the year (i.e. not a seasonal operator)

Must not be a Chain Restaurant²

• If an applicant is not a Chain Restaurant but has multiple locations under the same brand within the City, then the applicant may apply for up to five locations but will not receive funds for more than 3 locations within the City limits. Establishments that are part of a restaurant group with different brands may apply separately for each brand.

Must not have an established vehicle drive-thru

Must not have a financial or ownership connection to any employee of the City or the Chamber

Must be able to attest to financial need for the grant due to increased expenses or decreased revenues due to COVID-19

Must not be have material liquor violations, code violations, or excessive calls for service within the past 12 months

Process for Selection:
Interested and eligible restaurants and bars will apply, at no cost, with the Chamber during a set period of time. Once the application period has closed, the Chamber will confirm eligibility of applicants and randomly select eligible applicants until the program is at capacity.

Interested participants can apply for one of three levels:

• Full-service restaurant that includes dinner service: Expected $10,000 grants
• Limited-service restaurants that serve only breakfast or lunch: Expected $5,000 grants
• Bars with limited or pre-packaged food service: Expected $5,000 grants

The total number of grants will be determined by the number of applicants for each category. Grant amounts may be adjusted based on the number of applications received.

¹ An establishment is still eligible if it is temporarily not serving dine-in customers due to COVID-19 but would typically do so.

² A “Chain Restaurant” is a restaurant or bar that has six or more establishments located anywhere in the world and maintains features such as a standardized menu, branding, décor, etc

Eligible Grant Uses and Conditions:

This program is intended as an economic support program to assist restaurant and bars in maintaining operations in the face of the challenges presented by COVID-19, including required reduced hours and capacity. Therefore, grant funds may be utilized for any operational expense that a recipient deems necessary for continuation of operations; however, it is recommended that the funds be utilized to finance expenses that will increase an establishment’s ability to safely serve patrons throughout the COVID-19 pandemic—such as personal protective equipment for staff or installation of improvements or equipment that will increase the safety of patrons or staff. In no circumstances may the funds be utilized for the purchase of alcohol.

As a condition of accepting a grant under this program, each recipient will be required to (i) be open at least 4 days or 20 hours per week until April 1, 2021; (ii) agree to employ as many staff as financially feasible during this period; and (iii) participate in the Taste of Cincinnati® All Winter Long Promotional Program (as further described below).

Taste of Cincinnati® All Winter Long Promotional Program:

The Taste of Cincinnati® All Winter Long program is a marketing and promotional campaign that is focused on supporting service sector jobs and restaurant and bar operations by encouraging increased but safe patronage of establishments.

Each restaurant or bar will be required to offer a food or beverage discount to patrons, such as gift card discounts, buy-one-get-one offers, free items with the purchase of another item, or percentage discounts. Establishments are encouraged to be creative and select discounts that are sustainable throughout the program and drive traffic.

Specials can be limited to certain days or certain times. Coupled with a robust marketing effort, the Taste of Cincinnati® website will feature all participating restaurants and details of the available specials. Patrons will print out offers or show them to servers on their phone.

The Chamber will be coordinating an appropriate and safe timing for this promotional event. Each recipient will be required to participate and hold open the promotional offer until the aggregate value of the discount or promotion offered to the public is equal to half of the received grant amount (ex. $5,000 if a $10,000 grant is received). Once a recipient has given away the minimum required value, then the recipient may opt-out of continuing as part of the promotion; however, all recipients are encouraged to continue their promotion for the entirety of the program.