Baltimore restaurants still reeling from the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse can apply for a new source of financial relief.
Food delivery app DoorDash said Friday it is setting aside $100,000 from its Restaurant Disaster Relief Fund for restaurants affected by the March collapse, which killed six construction workers and temporarily shut down the Port of Baltimore, sending ripple effects through the local economy.
“The loss of the Key Bridge has impacted so many people across the Baltimore community — from businesses to workers to the diners that they serve,” Gov. Wes Moore said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “These relief programs extend a lifeline to restaurants and workers who rely on business activity.”
The program, funded entirely by DoorDash, according to a spokesperson, will award $10,000 grants to restaurants that apply for the relief and are accepted. The money can be used to pay for rent, mortgage payments, payroll and other bills.
To be eligible, restaurants will need to demonstrate an impact from the Key Bridge’s collapse. The aid is limited to smaller and medium-sized establishments with one to three brick-and-mortar locations, fewer than 50 employees per location and revenue of $3 million or less per location in the past 12 months.
The application deadline is Dec. 2.
For some local eateries, the loss of the bridge cut off an important access point for regular customers.
“It’s weird, because we haven’t seen much of them lately,” Marc Tsakiris, owner of Dundalk’s Boulevard Diner, told the Baltimore Sun in March.
Normally, “they’ll come a couple times a week for lunch; we know them by name and what they like to eat. That’s kind of up in the air now.”
DoorDash created the Restaurant Disaster Relief Fund in 2021 and has invested $3 million in the program since then, a spokesperson said, sending money to more than 180 restaurants in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The company recently announced $150,000 in relief grants for businesses hobbled by Hurricane Helene.
This is the first time Baltimore restaurants are eligible for aid through the program. DoorDash also said it will offer $100,000 in discounts through the delivery app for customers who order food from “local restaurants most impacted by the loss of the Key Bridge” from Nov. 1 through Nov. 21. The discount will appear as a promotional offer within the app.
Have a news tip? Contact reporter Amanda Yeager at ayeager@baltsun.com, 443-790-1738 or @amandacyeager on X.