Seattle has been packed the last few weeks with the MLB All-Star Game and Taylor Swift concerts.
But the Washington State Department of Commerce says hotels and restaurants around the state are still struggling with operational challenges that started in the pandemic. It's awarding close to $80 million in relief funding approved by the state legislature last year.
On Monday, Commerce Director Mike Fong visited Seattle's Chinatown-International District to highlight funding awarded to hotels and restaurants there. He visited several, such as Purple Dot Cafe, which received over $112,000 in relief funding.
In a press release, the Department of Commerce said pressure from the financial impact of the pandemic is lessening, but small business owners are seeing uncertainty around the workforce and the supply chain. The release said some businesses that received the money, such as Midtown Public House in Port Angeles, were considering shutting down.
"We got these dollars to businesses that didn't already necessarily receive restaurant relief funding during the earlier COVID relief programs," Fong said. "But at the same time, we wanted to make sure the word got out far and wide, so that we reach as many folks as possible."
Fong said 35% of the grants went to businesses owned by people of color. Only about a dozen of the nearly 1500 grants were to businesses in the CID, according to the state.
Some recipients of the largest amounts – more than $170,000 each – include several owners of Marriott hotels in Pullman, Walla Walla and Bellingham; Seattle-based restaurant chain Evergreens Incorporated, and The Poodle Dog restaurant in Fife.
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell accompanied Fong to the CID, and addressed recent criticism from the neighborhood that it’s not benefitting equally from the huge events at the stadiums next door.
"This is good data; good feedback. We act on it," Harrell said. "If it entails better marketing, better wayfinding, better evangelizing what we're trying to do, then we take that information. We don't take it as negative feedback."
