FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 18, 2020 Denver Increases Financial Aid to Restaurants/Bars for Costs of Expanded Outdoor Space DENVER – The City and County Denver, through its Department of Transportation & Infrastructure (DOTI), is giving more than 100 businesses a boost this month, distributing a total of $970,000 in economic aid to 135 restaurants and bars that incurred costs for creating outdoor seating areas amid COVID-19. DOTI had originally received $435,000 in Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act for this effort that it announced in October, but reimbursement requests from businesses far surpassed the department’s funding allotment. As a result, DOTI worked with Denver’s Department of Finance to secure additional CRF dollars to reimburse all eligible expenses submitted by businesses for their patio expansion projects. The list of businesses that received CRF funding as part of this initiative is attached; most were participants in Denver’s Temporary Outdoor Dining Expansion Program. DOTI began mailing reimbursement checks to businesses this week. More About CARES ActThe CARES Act established the $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) to provide payments to State, Local, and Tribal governments navigating the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.