As Nov. 18 marked the beginning of another wave of hardship for local restaurants because of the governor’s new COVID-19 guidelines, financial help is on the way for Federal Way businesses.

Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell rolled out a plan at the Nov. 17 city council meeting to distribute another round of CARES Act funds aimed directly at supporting dine-in, brick-and-mortar restaurants in Federal Way.

The deadline for applications is at 5 p.m. today (Nov. 19). More than 100 restaurants have already applied for the $5,000 grants.

The City of Federal Way was allotted about $2 million in federal funds earlier this year, and Ferrell plans to distribute about $533,000 of the remaining funds.

“The next four weeks are going to be especially difficult for our restaurants due to the governor’s restrictions on dining in order to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in our community,” Ferrell said. “We want to make sure we are doing all we can to help them through this pandemic.”

The remaining CARES Act funds must be distributed by Nov. 30, so local restaurants are encouraged to make sure they have the proper paperwork and documentation before applying for the funds.

This funding is open to the local dine-in restaurants who received a grant in the first or second rounds of CARES Act funding, and who are hit the hardest by the new guidelines.

“I want to thank my policy partners on the city council for their support of our actions as well as our city staff, which has been working hard to finalize all the contracts,” Ferrell said. “We as a community must continue to come together to support each other during this difficult time.”

To apply for funding, call 253-835-2402.