The City of Rancho Mirage announced on Wednesday a program that would distribute $400,000 of city funds to local restaurants to help them to continue operating during the coronavirus epidemic. I have posted the press release from the city below. It seems like a good program, so props to Rancho Mirage for taking action. Hopefully, other desert cities follow with similar programs.
The Press Release:
On Wednesday, March 25, 2020, the City of Rancho Mirage finalized the details on a previously announced Food Access Program with Rancho Mirage restaurants. On March 19, 2020, the City Council approved a budget not to exceed $400,000 from the City’s Disaster Preparedness Reserve fund. These funds are to ensure stable and continuous access to food for our community during the Stay at Home order by the State of California.
Many of our Rancho Mirage restaurants have started providing family style meals, essential needs, like eggs, milk, bread, rice which have been difficult to get from local grocery stores. The purpose of this program is to ensure our restaurants can continue providing this access to food and essentials. Find updates for valley restaurants open for take-out at GPS Stay-in-Take-out list.
The City of Rancho Mirage will be giving $8,000 to full-service restaurants that meet the below requirements.
- Must stay open through May 31, 2020
- Must be open at least 6 hours a day and 5 days a week
- Must provide weekly reporting of meals sold and staff hours worked
- Must comply with local, state and federal health orders
- Must implement precautionary sanitation measures for take-out and delivery orders
- Must complete an application (see link below)
- Must be located within Rancho Mirage city limits
This program does not apply for:
- Fast food or local restaurants with existing drive-throughs
- Corporate chain restaurants like Yard House, Cheesecake Factory, Flemings. etc.
- Small convenience stores like Jensen’s or Monterey Palm Liquor and gas station convenience markets
All eligible Rancho Mirage based restaurants are encouraged to fill out the following application with the City of Rancho Mirage. Click here to download the application or go to the City’s website RanchoMirageCA.gov.
