The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) has announced the conclusion of it’s Back to Business (B2B) Restaurants, Hotels and Arts program with $156 million provided in relief funds. Through these three programs, nearly 4,000 grants went to businesses in over 500 cities, towns, and localities in 95 counties across the state.
Locally, the Carmi Motel and the Super 8 in Grayville were given funds through the Hotel division. The Carmi Motel picked up $22,647. Super 8 was awarded more than $47,900. The Budget Inn in Fairfield received nearly $20,500 and the bed and breakfast Victorian on Main got just over $5,000.
In the Restaurant category, The Red Onion in Gallatin County was awarded $50,000. Danny’s Pool Room will also receive a $50,000 injection of cash. Billy Bob and Nina’s in Enfield has been awarded $15,000.
There were no awardees locally in the Arts classification.
B2B Arts and B2B Restaurants grant award amounts were determined based on a percentage of revenue declines, and funding for the B2B Hotels awards was allocated based on the number of rooms. Grants had an average award amount of $39,484, with different ranges of funding available depending on the business type. The grant program utilized American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding and was designed to offset losses and support job retention in the industries hardest-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Data on Grant Distribution:
- A total of 3,951 businesses were provided grant awards, including:
- Hotels: 720
- Restaurants: 996
- Arts: 2,235
- Businesses received an average grant amount of $39,484 with the following median awards amounts broken out by sector:
- Hotels: $62,458
- Restaurants: $50,000
- Arts: $5,000
- 85 percent of recipients did not receive any prior B2B or Business Interruption Grant (BIG) relief
- Average Revenue declines between 2019-2020:
- Hotels: As outlined in statute, revenue decline was not a factor for evaluating hotel awards.
- Restaurants: 28 percent
- Arts: 44 percent
- Funding Distributed Per Industry:
- Hotels: $70.4 million
- Restaurants: $37.9 million
- Arts: $47.7 million
