Hey, small biz owners! Amex is giving away thousands of dollars to support Sydney venues

Time Out

13-05-2025

We know things are tough out there for small business owners. So, if you own a small restaurant, café, bar or pub in Sydney, we're here to tell you some bloody good news: Amex is once again handing out thousands of dollars to support venues. They've got even more money to cash out this time around. And the best bit? There's seriously no catch.
Now in its fourth year, the Backing International Small Restaurants program is offering 15 grants valued at $23,000 to small restaurant owners in Sydney and Melbourne. Plus, for the first time, they're giving away five grants worth $25,000 NZD to our Kiwi restaurant friends in Auckland. That's more than $400,000 worth of Amex grants. How sweet's that?
The grant is intended to be a helping hand during an economically challenging time, allowing you to invest where it's needed most to improve and grow your business. Previous Sydney recipients of this game-changing grant include Potts Point's excellent sandwich shop Small's Deli, and incredible Afghan diner Kabul Social.
'American Express is proud to back local champions who strengthen their communities, and that includes many small and independent restaurants,' says Madge Thomas, head of corporate sustainability and president, American Express Foundation. 'Food brings people together, and we aim to offer these restaurants the support they need for their spaces and operations so they can continue to grow and be pillars in their neighbourhoods.'
One of the grant recipients in Melbourne last year was Bojak Brewing, a 75-seat brewery in Dandenong. Speaking about the life-changing grant, co-owner Sue Messina says: 'The American Express grant was great because it helped us afford improvements that we couldn't have made otherwise. We installed permanent gas heaters in the outdoor beer garden, making it a perfect year-round spot for families and beer lovers alike.
"The grant also enabled us to invest in new kitchen flooring and better equipment like a new density meter to provide more precise measurements and streamline the brewing process, as well as a carton box taper to improve efficiency when packaging beer.'
To be eligible, Australian venues must be in Sydney (or Melbourne) and:
Be currently open for business, in operation for more than one year and have a brick-and-mortar location/storefront (online-only or app-based businesses are not eligible);
Be a small/independently owned restaurant, café, bar or pub with food offering and not part of a franchise with more than five locations;
Have a 2024 annual revenue below market-specific thresholds (see more info here).