Helping Keep Small Restaurants Cooking, The PG&E Corporation Foundation Contributes to CA Restaurant Foundation Resilience Fund

Small Restaurants in PG&E’s Service Area Can Apply for $3,000 Grants

By Lynsey Paulo

Following a successful inaugural program last year, the California Restaurant Foundation (CRF) is again providing grants to independent restaurant owners and their staffs through the Restaurants Care Resilience Fund. The PG&E Corporation Foundation is contributing $500,000 to the fund to support investment in and recovery of California’s restaurant community, which is still reeling from economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Restaurants Care Resilience Fund is accepting applications from April 15-30, 2022. Grant recipients can use the money for equipment upgrades to alleviate deferred maintenance and for employee retention to help with industry-wide staffing challenges. Small restaurants continue to be impacted by the last two years of debt and losses incurred amid rising costs.

Grants are available to California resident restaurant owners with fewer than three units and less than $3 million in revenue. The PG&E Corporation Foundation funding will prioritize minority- and women-owned businesses in PG&E’s service area in Northern and Central California. Last year, 109 grants were awarded to independent restaurant owners in the company’s service area.

“The PG&E Corporation Foundation’s generous contribution will help independent restaurant owners across Northern and Central California invest in their people, their equipment and ultimately, the long-term health and success of their businesses,” said Alycia Harshfield, Executive Director of CRF.

“Kitchens and crews are what keep restaurants running, and the Restaurants Care Resilience Fund is helping owners pay their workers, keep their doors open and fuel our local economies. We’re proud to again support our hometown restaurants through this fund, and all of our small business customers as they continue to recover from the financial effects of the pandemic,” said PG&E's Robert Kenney, senior vice president of regulatory and external affairs, and chair of The PG&E Corporation Foundation board.

Assisting small and medium businesses

PG&E remains committed to providing ways for its small and medium business customers to save energy and money amid the economic hardships suffered during the pandemic. Here are some ways PG&E is helping its customers:

• Automatically enrolling qualified customers in PG&E’s COVID Relief Payment Plan to help pay down balances over time, protecting from disconnection.

• Contacting business customers who would save money by choosing a better rate plan for their operations, in line with changing peak hours for time-of-use rate plans.

• Providing COVID-19 relief and support information to all small business customers, including PG&E resources and external support for businesses like California state programs.

• Increasing outreach to small business customers highlighting payment support and energy-savings programs through email campaigns, PG&E’s Energy Advisors, and direct mail.

• Conducting outreach to eligible customers to enroll in a discounted rate for businesses struggling to stay open.

• Offering rebate and financing solutions to help small business customers realize sustained cost savings.

For more information on PG&E Small and Medium Business customer support visit pge.com/smbsupport.

For more information on the California Restaurant Foundation, Restaurants Care, or the Restaurant Resilience Fund, visit restaurantscare.org.

Email Currents at Currents@pge.com