Lake County Gazette

A Lake Zurich restaurant was among the hundreds of awardees of a state hospitality grant program designed to help businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Koffee Kup Restaurant received a $10,000 grant, which is administered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Chicago Tribune's Lake Zurich Courier reported on April 29. It was one of the dozens of businesses that received grant funding in the region. 

The grant program has awarded approximately $14 million to 700 businesses statewide to help cover payroll, rent, job training and technology to support shifts in operations, including increased use of take-out and delivery, the publication reported. 

Co-owner Sheila Chudik would be the first to say she is happy for the grant, but how to best use it is anyone’s guess. She told the Lake Zurich Courier that she and her husband, Bob, furloughed their six employees until at least June 1.

“They say you need to bring back your employees,” Chudik said. "If we do that, we will be out of money in a few months. So, how do you use that 50%? It’s confusing. We need to talk to someone.”

The funds do not have to be paid back as long as they are used for business-related purposes, the publication reported. 

The Lake Zurich Courier reported that 39 small bars, restaurants, caterers and hotels in Lake County were awarded grants. 

Chudik said the Koffee Kup is “super grateful” to be among that group.

Cecilia Lanyon and Dominic Zumpano, co-owners of The Gallery and The Peanut Gallery restaurants in Lake Forest, spent their funds on salaries and benefits for their dozen of workers, the publication reported. 

“The fine print is important to read,” she told the publication. “It does not have to be paid back, but you have to be able to prove where you spent it. There are parameters to follow.”