Mount Prospect to Offer COVID-19 Restaurant Assistance Grant Program

The Village of Mount Prospect is announcing a new COVID-19 Restaurant Assistance Grant Program. The Village will be dispersing grants of up to $10,000 to qualifying local restaurants, with a fund total of at least $250,000.

To be eligible for a grant, a restaurant must:

• Have and maintain a current and valid Village of Mount Prospect Business license;

• Not have permanently ceased operations as of the date the funds are to be dispensed;

• Generate municipal sales tax as part of its operations and sales;

• Generate food and beverage tax as part of its operations and sales;

• Have indoor seating for dining;

• Not be part of a chain consisting of more than 4 units or part of a franchise system;

• Not be a private club and must be open to the general public;

• Not be a home occupation;

• Business must show evidence that they have suffered a decrease in municipal sales tax eligible sales from March 21, 2020 to the date of the Application when compared to the same time frame in 2019, to be verified by staff. Restaurants opened more recently will need to show loss of sales from date of opening; and

• Be in compliance with Restore Illinois Resurgence Mitigations.

The application process opens at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18. The application form will be available at WWW.MOUNTPROSPECT.ORG/RESTAURANTGRANT. Grants will be awarded on a first-come, first serve basis.

"Our economic development team got creative and were able to reallocate $250,000 from other budgeted expenses to help keep our restaurants open during this extended pandemic," said Village Manager Mike Cassady. "We plan to allocate an additional $350,000 from funding received from the CARES Act. The governor's executive order targets restaurants directly, and without some intervention, we will see many of our dining establishments close permanently."

Questions regarding the Restaurant Grant Program or Application may be directed to the Community Development Department at 847-818-5328. Questions may also be sent via email to: RestaurantGrantApplication@mountprospect.org.