Los Angeles County Is Accepting Grant Applications For ‘Keep LA County Dining’ To Aid LA County Restaurants

Press release from the City of West Hollywood:

December 7, 2020

The City of West Hollywood is making every effort to respond to community needs during the coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency. The City is getting the word out about the Los Angeles County Keep LA County Dining grant program.

The grant application portal for this new program opened today, Monday December 7, 2020 and is scheduled to remain open until Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 5 p.m., or until 2,500 applications are received, whichever comes first. The grant amount is $30,000 and may be used for working capital only, such as employee payroll expenses, capital to continue operations, payment of outstanding business expenses, and adaptive business practices needed to remain open.

For information about eligible businesses, grant details, business and owner requirements, the application and selection process, and a PDF with answers to frequently asked questions, visit the Keep LA County Dining grant program website. Assistance with required documents for the application, including copies of business tax certificates or business licenses is available by contacting City of West Hollywood Business Development Analyst Tara Worden at (323) 848-6429 or tworden@weho.org.

The program is only available to small businesses located in Los Angeles County, not including the cities of Los Angeles and Pasadena, that can show their business was impacted by COVID-19. Restaurants that provided outdoor dining as of Tuesday, November 24, 2020 will be given preference and selected based on order of submission. Businesses that have received assistance from any other CARES Act-funded programs are not eligible.

Businesses are eligible if:

• They have a fixed brick and mortar location with a full-service kitchen. (Pop-ups and food trucks are not eligible).

• Restaurants with less than a total count of 25 employees at the time of application.

• They are located within Los Angeles County, but not in the cities of Los Angeles or Pasadena. Click here to verify your location.

• They do not have more than five business locations. Those with multiple locations, but with five or less, may only submit one application.

• They are not a corporate-owned franchise.

• The restaurant has a current inspection grade of “C” or better.

• The restaurant was established and operating no later than Wednesday, March 4, 2020.

Grants are administered by Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles County Development Authority, and Los Angeles County Consumer & Business Affairs.

As a result of state and county public health orders, local businesses in the City of West Hollywood are experiencing ordered closures and major changes in normal operations, which are particularly challenging during this unprecedented health pandemic. The City of West Hollywood is taking extensive action to support businesses and workers during this unprecedented time and has produced a Toolkit For West Hollywood Businesses affected by COVID-19. A PDF of the kit can be downloaded at www.weho.org/business. To sign up to receive the City of West Hollywood's COVID-19 Business and Workforce Newsletter please click here.

The City of West Hollywood has declared a local emergency in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Individuals are advised, at this time, to stay at home as much as possible and limit close interactions to those in your household. When in public for essential needs, community members should maintain your space with social (physical) distancing of at least six feet, and cover your face. Public Health officials recommend that everyone continue to follow physical distancing and infection control directives and wear a clean face covering that securely covers both your nose and mouth when in in public. Additionally, people 65 years old or older and all people of any age with underlying health conditions should remain at home whenever possible; people in these categories should only leave their residences to seek medical care, exercise, or obtain food or other necessities.

West Hollywood City Hall is currently closed to the public and has suspended all in-person transactions. Most public City buildings, playgrounds, and facilities remain closed. City Hall remains accessible for business and essential services with transactions to be conducted by phone (323) 848-6400 and via the City’s website at www.weho.org.

City of West Hollywood coronavirus updates are available at www.weho.org/coronavirus and the City encourages community members to follow @wehocity on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and turn on notifications for up-to-date information.

To view essential-business City meetings, tune in to WeHoTV at:

• www.weho.org/wehotv

Meetings can also be accessed via:

• www.youtube.com/wehotv

• Spectrum Channel 10 (in West Hollywood)

• SmartTV Apps: AndroidTV; AppleTV; FireTV; and Roku

For notifications by email, subscribe to the City’s E-Notifications at www.weho.org/email. Visit the City’s event and meetings calendar at www.weho.org/calendar and news archive at www.weho.org/news.

To receive urgent updates to your phone by text and to your email, text your ZIP code to 888-777.

For updates and information about the current numbers of COVID-19 cases in the United States, in the State of California, and in Los Angeles County, visit:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

• California Department of Public Health (CDPH) www.cdph.ca.gov and covid19.ca.gov

• Los Angeles County Department of Public Health www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus

For reporters and members of the media seeking additional information about COVID-19 in Los Angeles County, please contact the LA County Department of Public Health Chief Communications Officer, Carl A. Kemp, at (213) 240-8144 or media@ph.lacounty.gov. LA County Reopening Protocols, a COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, the Roadmap to Recovery, and additional details are available on its website at www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

For reporters and members of the media seeking additional information about the City of West Hollywood, please contact the City of West Hollywood’s Public Information Officer, Sheri A. Lunn, at (323) 848-6391 or slunn@weho.org.

This press release was produced by the City of West Hollywood. The views expressed here are the author’s own.