Thirteen small restaurants share in more than a quarter of a million dollars from American Express
Eight small restaurants in Melbourne and five in Sydney have each secured grants of AUD $21,500 as winners of the American Express Backing International Small Restaurants grant program – back for its third year.
Robert Tedesco, Vice President of Global Merchant Network Services for American Express Australia and New Zealand, said: “This year we expanded Backing International Small Restaurants to include venues from Melbourne and Sydney and we received an incredible response with a record number of applications across both cities. Since its inception, the program has delivered almost $520,000 directly to small Australian dining venues, helping them to continue delivering meaningful contributions to their customers and community.”
Run in partnership with the International Downtown Association (IDA) Foundation and supported by Mainstreet Australia, small restaurant owners were invited to apply for grants each valued at AUD $21,500 to put towards expenses or improving their business.
David Downey, Executive Director, IDA Foundation, said: “We are thrilled to announce the third cohort of restaurants selected for the Backing International Small Restaurants program. This year, we've expanded our reach to nine cities globally through the continued generosity of American Express. We are proud to empower these extraordinary restaurants to thrive and strengthen the fabric of their neighbourhoods.”
Suresh Manickam, CEO of Restaurant & Catering Australia, said: “Small restaurant owners have been working harder than ever and these grants will help alleviate some of financial pressure they're facing. The American Express Backing International Small Restaurants program is a very worthy program and has contributed more than half a million dollars to Australian venues since it began here three years ago, which reflects a company that is truly backing business and community.”
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2024 Winners – American Express Backing International Small Restaurant Grants |
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Owners of one of the winning businesses, Rising Sun Workshop in Sydney, said the grant came at the perfect time for their business, which provides a unique communal space in Sydney’s vibrant Newtown where motorcyclists can work on their bikes while enjoying a coffee or meal, including some of the most sought-after ramen in the city.
“Rising Sun Workshop is about breaking down the barriers of urban living, where people often don’t know their neighbours. We created this space to give city people a place to work on their bikes and it has grown into something much bigger—a community where everyone feels welcome. It's more than a workshop or a restaurant—it's a space where strangers can connect, share stories and help each other out. In a city where people can feel disconnected, we wanted to create a place where asking for help or offering a hand was second nature,” said Rising Sun Workshop co-founder Heleana Genaus.
“The Backing International Small Restaurants grant from Amex is helping us to keep improving our operations by making some much-needed changes to the kitchen and storage areas, which we wouldn’t have been able to make without it.”
Another winner, Sue and Dale Messina from Bojak Brewing, a 75-seater brewery in Dandenong that was forced to close for much of two years following the Covid pandemic, is using their grant to upgrade equipment and facilities in their business.
“This American Express grant is great because it’s helping us afford improvements that we couldn’t otherwise. We’re excited to be able to install permanent gas heaters in the outdoor beer garden, making it a perfect year-round spot for families and beer lovers alike. The grant is also enabling 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.”
Globally, the program has more than doubled the annual grant funding to US $1 million (AUD $1,486,000), up from US $435,000 (AUD $647,000) last year, and expanded its support to restaurants in nine cities around the world.
Seventy small and independently owned restaurants will receive grants of up to US $15,000 each. This year’s program is reaching four new cities – Manchester, Melbourne, Montreal, and Osaka – in addition to London, Mexico City, Sydney, Tokyo, and Toronto which were already a part of the program. Since its inception in 2022, the Backing International Small Restaurants program has provided funding to more than 135 restaurants.
Learn more about the 2024 Backing International Small Restaurants grantees here.
