NYC Restaurants Can Apply For a New $5,000 Grant To Defray Outdoor Heating Costs

New $5,000 grants could help with heating costs

NYC restaurants could get a major boost heading into the winter months with a new grant announced by DoorDash, in partnership with the NYC Hospitality Alliance, to help defray outdoor heating costs. Restaurants with three locations or fewer, and 50 employees or less per venue will be able to apply for these $5,000 grants starting October 16.

DoorDash has committed $500,000 to the new program, meaning up to 100 restaurants citywide are eligible to receive grants. The application process will remain open through November 6, and grants will be dispersed shortly after the application opens, according to a DoorDash spokesperson. Restaurateurs can use the grant to be reimbursed for money already spent on heaters.

In the face of a historic downturn in business due to the COVID-19 pandemic, restaurateurs have already spent large sums preparing their establishments for outdoor dining. With outdoor dining now officially a permanent fixture in NYC, restaurants have had to spend thousands more dollars on purchasing heaters, installing tents, and buying blankets, among other things, to prepare for the winter months.

In other news

— Food and drinks writer Georgette Moger-Petraske, the widow of late bartending legend Sasha Petraske, is hosting cocktail-making lessons at a Brownstone in Murray Hill. The socially distanced affair sets attendees back $150 and includes welcome drinks, a demonstration on shucking oysters, canapés, and a signed copy of her book Regarding Cocktails.

— Theater District restaurants Bouillon Marseille and Nizza are feeding Actors’ Equity Association members free of cost from 9 p.m. every night starting October 12, according to a restaurant spokesperson.

— A group of physicians are calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to enact a full minimum wage for restaurant workers in New York citing safety concerns in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

— Brooklyn Heights natural wine bar Pips reopened for indoor dining last night after a six-month closure due to the pandemic. The restaurant is open Thursday through Monday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.

— Lower East Side vegan deli Orchard Grocer has launched a punchcard service allowing diners to pick up items from local vegan favorites like Dirt Candy and Erin McKenna’s. Ten percent of the proceeds will go toward Safe Horizon’s Streetwork Project.

— The Standard High Line Hotel redefines excess this week with a $75 caviar-topped hot dog very appropriately called the yacht dog. For $99 it comes with a mini bottle of champagne.

— Hudson Yards restaurant Electric Lemon launches brunch this Saturday with items like flaxseed pancakes, deviled crab, and fluke tartare.

— The city’s diners continue to close en masse. Here’s how those that remain are hanging on in Brooklyn.

— Weekend cooking inspiration:

UPDATE: This story has been updated to reflect that the grant program application is open through November 6.