{"id":301644,"date":"2021-07-17T17:49:18","date_gmt":"2021-07-17T14:49:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/ritzy-restaurants-feast-on-federal-funds-as-mom-and-pops-struggle\/"},"modified":"2021-07-17T17:49:18","modified_gmt":"2021-07-17T14:49:18","slug":"ritzy-restaurants-feast-on-federal-funds-as-mom-and-pops-struggle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ritzy-restaurants-feast-on-federal-funds-as-mom-and-pops-struggle\/","title":{"rendered":"#Ritzy restaurants feast on federal funds as mom-and-pops struggle"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Ritzy restaurants feast on federal funds as mom-and-pops struggle<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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Fat-cat food-industry heavyweights have feasted on millions from the Biden administration\u2019s $26.8 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund \u2014 while cash-starved mom-and-pop operators battle for crumbs at the bailout banquet, according to data<\/a> released by the U.S. Small Business Administration.<\/p>\n

More than 70 percent of restaurant app<\/a>licants nationally were denied any funding. But here in New York City, chains, celebrity chefs \u2014 and even alleged swindlers \u2014 hauled in windfalls. <\/p>\n

David Chang\u2019s Momofuku Group, which operates ritzy restaurants in New York City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Toronto, fattened itself on $6.9 million in taxpayer cash through the fund. Diners at Michelin-rated Momofuku Ko in the Bowery can savor the $130 tasting menu or a $35 spicy tomato pizza. <\/p>\n

But at Two Maria\u2019s Pizza next to the Baruch housing projects on the Lower East Side, where slices go for $1, immigrant owner Maria Morillo received just $1,816.38 \u2014 the lowest amount of any Manhattan eatery to benefit from the fund.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m disappointed,\u201d she said, speaking through a translator. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to run a small business here. But they\u2019re not concerned about us at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Two
Two Maria\u2019s Pizza received a staggeringly low amount of funds.<\/figcaption>
J.C. Rice for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The fund was signed into law in March as part of the Biden Administration\u2019s American Rescue Plan stimulus package. The goal was to offset losses suffered by restaurants devastated by pandemic shutdowns.<\/p>\n

With more money, Morillo said she could have hired new employees, including a delivery driver and pizza maker, providing two more jobs for her low-income neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Momofuku spokesman Ryan Healy told The Post they are using their $6.9 million from the fund \u201cacross our restaurants in New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas\u201d but that it \u201cdoesn\u2019t even cover our losses since March 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"David
David Chang\u2019s Momofuku Group received $6.9 million in taxpayer cash.<\/figcaption>
Ben Gabbe\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Grand Central Joint Venture, which operates Bronx-based Zaro\u2019s Bakery and provides bread to supermarkets and mail-order consumers around the country, was one of four NYC companies to receive the maximum $10 million handout.<\/p>\n

Juice Generation, the upscale boutique chain in trendy neighborhoods affiliated with celebrity juicer Salma Hayek<\/a>, squeezed $8.7 million out of the fund.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is crazy. The whole thing stinks,\u201d fumed Patrick Hughes, the owner of Hellcat Annie\u2019s and Scruffy Duffy\u2019s in Hell\u2019s Kitchen. \u201cSome places weren\u2019t even open and got millions. Many of us who worked our asses off to survive got nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Zaro's
Zaro\u2019s Bakery was also a big winner from the fund.<\/figcaption>
J.C. Rice for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The only thing Hughes got from the fund was a denial. <\/p>\n

But two restaurants just across the street on Tenth Avenue, Le Prive and Casa Del Toro, received $859,000 \u2014 even though their owner, Sanjay Laforest, was arrested on May 12 for his alleged role in his family\u2019s $17 million embezzlement scheme. <\/p>\n

The restaurateur and three co-defendants \u201claundered millions of dollars of the proceeds of their embezzlement scheme by transferring the money to other financial accounts owned by them and their family members \u2026 including two Manhattan restaurants owned by Sanjay Laforest,\u201d according to a press release<\/a> issued by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

Laforest\u2019s federal restaurant bailout was approved on May 20 \u2013 eight days after<\/em> the feds indicted him for filtering stolen money through the same two restaurants. The scam was part of an effort to defraud a Manhattan electrical contractor that employed one of his family members, the charges allege.<\/p>\n

\"Sanjay
Sanjay Laforest\u2019s restaurant received federal funding despite him being arrested on May 12 for his alleged role in an embezzlement scheme.<\/figcaption>
Brian Zak\/NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The SBA released the entire nationwide list<\/a> of recipients following a Freedom of Information Act filing by the Independent Restaurant Coalition. <\/p>\n

Some 101,000 eateries nationwide got money from the Restaurant Relief Fund. But more than 200,000 \u2014 72 percent of applicants \u2014 got nothing.<\/p>\n

The number of applicants were not parsed by region. But if the nationwide trends held true, more than 10,000 New York City applicants were denied money by the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.<\/p>\n

Four NYC-based operations relished the maximum federal feed of $10 million. In addition to Zaro\u2019s, Sweet Hospitality Group, a Broadway theater concessionaire; M & R concessions, a Dunkin\u2019 franchisee that operates at least one coffee shop at JFK International Airport, among other locations; and State of Mind Holdings all fed from the $10 million trough. <\/p>\n

\"Juice
Juice Generation got $8.7 million out of the fund.<\/figcaption>
Annie Wermiel\/NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other high-profile operators, such as Brooklyn Winery and Peter Luger Steakhouse, poured $6.3 million and $5 million, respectively, into their coffers.<\/p>\n

Among the outfits at the bottom of the bailout list, Yummy Yummy Chinese Kitchen, a takeout joint in Soundview, Bronx, received $1,900.98. Miss American Pie, a small largely takeout bakery in Park Slope run by the husband-and-wife team of Lindsey and Ryan Hill, received $2,251.36.<\/p>\n

A total of 4,652 New York City restaurants, restaurant groups, concessionaires and food manufacturers received funds.<\/p>\n

New York City-based businesses benefitted from a total of of $2.4 billion, nearly 10 percent the national total. The outlay was top heavy: 52 operations received $5 million or more; 682 got $1 million or more. More than 1,000 businesses received less than $100,000; 68 less than $10,000.<\/p>\n

\"Dunkin
A Dunkin franchise with at least one store in the JFK airport was one of the businesses to get the maximum amount of funding.<\/figcaption>
J.C.Rice for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The average in NYC was $572,000 per recipient: 1,164 got more than average, 3,088 got less than average. <\/p>\n

The program was also mired in legal controversy. It was originally intended to aid only women- and minority-owned operations. Three businesses successfully sued the program on the charges it was discriminatory.\n <\/p><\/div>\n

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Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“#Ritzy restaurants feast on federal funds as mom-and-pops struggle” Fat-cat food-industry heavyweights have feasted on millions from the Biden administration\u2019s $26.8 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund \u2014 while cash-starved mom-and-pop operators battle for crumbs at the bailout banquet, according to data released by the U.S. Small Business Administration. More than 70 percent of restaurant applicants nationally…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":301645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/07\/marias-pizza-1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[112110,22512],"class_list":["post-301644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-7-17-21","tag-restaurants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/301645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}