51 Rockford restaurants receive $189K in COVID-19 pandemic relief grants
Each business received different amounts, depending on their tax liability. The highest grant awarded by the Illinois Restaurant Relief Grant was $21,622.
'The Restaurant Relief Grant is making a real difference for our local hospitality industry,' said John Groh, President/CEO of GoRockford. 'These businesses shape our community identity, spark creativity and create vital jobs. We're proud to see another round of funding go to the hardworking restaurant, bar, and coffee shop owners whose passion helps Rockford and our region grow, thrive and remain a vibrant place to live and visit.'
The funding aims to help with the financial strain placed on restaurants due to unemployment tax payments incurred during government-ordered shutdowns during the pandemic.
The following restaurants received grants in the third round of the program:
27 Aluna @ Octane
Abreo Restaurant
Alchemy at Aldeen/ Gio events
Alpine View Restaurant
Broadway Joe's (Dusty Boots Saloon)
Carlyle Brewing
Casey's Pub
Culver's of Winnebago
District Bar & Grill
Don Carter Lanes
Famous Dave's Rockford
Forest Hills Lanes
Franchesco's Ristorante
Golden Corral
Greenfire Restaurant & Bakery
Hoffman House
Hope & Anchor English Pub
J. W. Marc's Fusion Café
Joe's Casa Di Amici
Johnny Pamcakes
Johnny Pamcakes Too
John's Restaurant
LimaMar Restaurant
Lucha Cantina
Machine Shed
Mary's Market
Mulligan's of Rockford
Murphy's Pub & Grill
Onyx Bar & Grill
Oscar's Pub & Grill
Park Lanes
Pig Minds
Pizza Ranch
Rookie's Pub & Grill
Rusty Nail Tavern
Scanlan's
Spider Sushi
Stockholm Inn
Stockyard Rock Burger Bar/Half Baked Bar
Tad's Bar & Grill
Tavern on Clark
Thai Hut Restaurant
The Cherry Bowl
The Filling Station
The Norwegian
The Olympic Tavern
The Pomodoro
Thunderbay Grill
Tower Kitchen & Bar
Viking Lanes
Vintage @501/TacoLibre
This is the third round of funding from the grant program, which has administered $855,158 to local businesses in total.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Homebuilders Offer Best Incentives Since COVID
Homebuilders are doing just about everything they can to make a sale. Buyers remain scarce. In fact, builders are offering the most sales incentives in five years, according to the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) monthly confidence index data released Monday, which also showed that builders' confidence in the market is now at its lowest level since late 2022. Both builders and buyers, however, may take solace knowing that the Oracle of Omaha, in one of his final prophecies, foresees upside for the sector. READ ALSO: SoftBank Acquires a 2% Stake in Embattled Intel and Brokers Chafe Under Abrupt Expansion of Steel, Aluminum Tariffs Buffett-Backed Real Estate Just how desperate are homebuilders to move inventory? A full 37% have slashed prices this month, down ever so slightly from 38% in July — the highest figure since the NAHB started tracking the data in 2022. In both months, the average price reduction was 5%; that comes after the median sale price of existing homes hit an all-time high earlier this summer, according to the National Association of Realtors. Some 66% of builders are offering sales incentives in some form or another, up from 62% last month and the highest since the COVID-19 pandemic. Shop Top Mortgage Rates A quicker path to financial freedom Personalized rates in minutes Your Path to Homeownership Worse, 'builders are also grappling with supply-side headwinds, including ongoing frustrations with regulatory policies connected to developing land and building homes,' NAHB Chairman Buddy Hughes said in Monday's report. Still, Berkshire Hathaway revealed in regulatory filings last week that a handful of key homebuilder stocks were among Buffett's final plays. He's hardly alone in anticipating a rebound: During the first half of the year, Berkshire invested nearly $800 million in shares of homebuilder Lennar as well as roughly $300 million in homebuilder DR Horton; Lennar and DR Horton are two of just four homebuilders in the S&P 500. Berkshire also reported an approximately $857 million stake in Nucor, America's largest steelmaker. Meanwhile, a MarketWatch analysis of 18 homebuilders' stocks in the S&P Composite 1500 Index showed the group climbed 21% from the end of June through the end of last week, while the iShares US Home Construction ETF is up over 15% in the past month. Deep Cuts: So why the optimism? Demand-side softness is due almost entirely to one thing: affordability (or lack thereof), and a timely September rate cut from the Federal Reserve could help reduce prices for builders and buyers. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.58% last week, according to Freddie Mac. That's the lowest since October of last year and down from recent 7% highs. CME Group's FedWatch tool shows traders are penciling in an 83% chance of a quarter-point rate cut at the central bank's meeting in September, which could nudge mortgage rates down even further. Be careful, Jerome Powell: Disappointing the president is one thing, but the wrath of frustrated millennials may be even worse. This post first appeared on The Daily Upside. To receive delivering razor sharp analysis and perspective on all things finance, economics, and markets, subscribe to our free The Daily Upside newsletter. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Feeding Westchester parts ways with CEO who led food bank through COVID uncertainty
ELMSFORD − After five years at the helm of Feeding Westchester during which the regional food bank doubled in size, President and CEO Karen C. Erren has parted ways with one of the region's largest nonprofits. A national search is under way to find her replacement. The news came in a Feeding Westchester press release Wednesday that noted Erren, "who led the organization through significant growth and expansion, has stepped down by mutual agreement." Efforts to reach Erren for comment were unsuccessful. Feeding Westchester CEO led food bank out of pandemic, doubled its size The departure comes one month after Erren's five-year anniversary. The Arkansas native arrived in July 2020 when uncertainty reigned in the grip of the pandemic. She and her staff navigated the unknowable, creating processes that kept food on tables of neighbors who were struggling the most. Working with a skeleton staff adhering to strict COVID-safety protocols, the food kept going out. Mobile food pantries offered families drive-thru services. Food pantry shelves were still stocked. This year, Feeding Westchester provided more than 21 million pounds of food to 175 food pantries. Erren stressed the need for fresh produce and on her watch the Elmsford warehouse was expanded greatly to accommodate fresh and shelf-stable offerings. In the statement announcing Erren's departure, the nonprofit's board of directors "expressed deep gratitude for her leadership and contributions to the organization's success over the past five years." Karen Erren: 'A well-fed man has many problems. A hungry man has one.' In July 2020, Erren arrived from Palm Beach, Florida, but her accent was all Arkansas Ozarks. In a May 2021 interview, she started many of her sentences with "You know, there's an old saying ..." in a homespun manner that pulled the listener in. She said she was fond of a certain bedrock saying: "A well-fed man has many problems. A hungry man has one." There is hunger in every community, every ZIP code, she said, adding, "Many days, I believe that there is hunger on every street.' Even in Westchester. 'Our neighbors who are hungry are just like you and me, but they don't have the family network or the safety net that so many of us have,' Erren said in the 2021 interview. 'Westchester County is a very wealthy community, but alongside great wealth is great need. And that has always been true.' Westchester food bank saw skyrocketing need in COVID times Food banks measure the volume of the problem in the number of meals, if not people, served. If a person visits multiple food pantries per week — which they tend to do, since a bag of groceries is intended to last three to five days — they are counted multiple times. Feeding Westchester's numbers skyrocketed in the early part of the pandemic, dwarfing pre-COVID rates. In February 2020, there were 130,000 client visits. By May 2020, that number had nearly tripled, to 354,000, the pandemic peak. According to the news release announcing Erren's departure, "In 2025, Feeding Westchester provided more than 21 million pounds of food equivalent to more than 17 million meals through soup kitchens, food pantries, schools, shelters, residential programs, and mobile distributions. That served an average of 234,000 neighbor visits." Tami Wilson will lead Feeding Westchester during national search for new CEO Chief Operating Officer Tami Wilson will lead Feeding Westchester during the national search for a new president and CEO, it was announced in the news release. The need remains acute as food insecurity shows no sign of abating in Westchester, one of the nation's wealthiest counties. More than one in three of the county's households is at risk of hunger, and deep cuts in federal funding threaten to make the situation even more dire, a reality noted by Vinay Rao, chair of the Feeding Westchester board. 'Feeding Westchester is entering a pivotal moment in its history. The Board is committed to finding a CEO who will amplify our mission and guide our organization confidently into the future,' Rao said. 'We are partnering with DSG Koya, a well-regarded executive recruitment leader, to conduct a thorough national search for a new CEO, guided by a shared commitment to Feeding Westchester's mission to serve our neighbors in need and working with our partners toward a Westchester where no one is hungry.' Peter D. Kramer is a 37-year staffer who writes long-form narratives on a variety of topics. His story looking back on the Oak Street fire in Yonkers won a national Headliner Award for outstanding news specials/feature column. Reach him at pkramer@ This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Feeding Westchester NY parts ways with CEO Karen Erren Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
South Dakota declares judicial emergency following statewide tech issues
The South Dakota Supreme Court has declared a judicial emergency in the state following a "large-scale technical issue" that has been affecting state websites and telephone systems since Aug. 19. A release from the South Dakota Unified Judicial System on Aug. 20 said that "All deadlines, time schedules, due dates and filing requirements imposed by applicable statutes, rules and court orders are suspended until further ordered by the Court." Issues described by the release include problems with ePayments, eCourts and the File and Serve platforms. Court filings and payments may still be submitted in person at clerk of courts offices. The state was previously under a judicial emergency from March 13, 2020 to June 30, 2022 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Judicial emergency declared in South Dakota following tech issues Solve the daily Crossword