Parachute, 3500 N. Elston Ave., received a grant in 2023 through the AAPIStrong Restaurant Fund. While the restaurant has since closed, the owners said they plan to introduce a new concept.
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Restaurants owned by Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in Chicago and across the state can now apply to receive up to $25,000 in funding through the Grubhub Community Fund.
Launched during the pandemic, the $1.2 million AAPIStrong Restaurant Fund helps struggling AAPI-owned small businesses. Funds are distributed by the National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship (National ACE), based in Washington D.C.
Grants range from $5,000 to $25,000 and eligible restaurant owners have until May 31 to apply, or if they receive 5,000 applicants, whichever comes first. Three restaurateurs will receive the $25,000 grand prize at the National ACE’s annual conference in Santa Clara, California in September.
In 2023, several Chicago restaurants won grants: 2d Restaurant in Lake View, Aroy Thai in Ravenswood, the now-shuttered Parachute in Avondale, Subo Filipino Kitchen in Kimball, Vietfive Coffee in West Loop, and Iced in Horner Park.
David Maugaotega, owner of the bakery Iced, said in a statement last year that the grant helped “settle some of the financial debt from my equipment purchases and startup costs of my self-made bakery.” He said the funding would allow him “to focus on the bigger picture instead of the day-to-day by investing more in other areas, such as marketing, new equipment, and staffing.”
Grubhub and the business association National ACE started the grant program in 2021 to support AAPI-owned restaurants that were especially hard hit during the pandemic and neglected by government and other aid programs. Since then, the association has distributed more than $5 million to 351 AAPI restaurant owners nationwide.
Grubhub said by April 2020, “roughly half of the Chinese restaurants in the U.S. had closed because of the pandemic, coupled with consumer prejudice and misperceptions.”
Before the pandemic and a wave of anti-Asian violence, there were few corporate grant programs for AAPI-owned small businesses compared to those owned by other minority groups.
Foundation funding for AAPI communities only accounted for 0.2% of all U.S. grantmaking, according to a 2021 report from the nonprofit Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy. The nonprofit emphasized that “for every $100 awarded by foundations for work in the U.S, only 20 cents is designated for AAPI communities.”
Challenges still remain for restaurant business owners. The National ACE CEO and president Chiling Tong said the AAPIStrong Restaurant Fund received last year more than 1,500 applications with 71% reporting limited cash flow and more than half struggling to find workers.
“AAPI restaurants have faced ongoing challenges stemming from the pandemic, which have been exacerbated by rising costs,” she said.
To be eligible for the grant, for-profit restaurants in the U.S. can’t be a franchise and must be Asian American, Pacific Islander, or Native Hawaiian majority-owned, at least 51%. Also, owners must currently operate in a single location, show proof of their primary licensed activity as “the preparation and serving of food” and demonstrate financial need, among other criteria. Priority will be given to first-time grant applicants.
Grants will be distributed to owners by December.
Application details are in English only at aapistrong.com.