Who received the largest venue SBA grants in the San Antonio area?

Out of those businesses, 38 San Antonio-area venues and museum received a total of $43 million in rescue funding from the SBA, as of July 26.

MySA has compiled that data into the top 10 recipients of SVOG funds in the San Antonio area. These 10 businesses and organizations account for $37 million of the total funding received by the San Antonio-area recipients. 

The SVOG program still has more than $8 billion in funding via the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act through the American Rescue Plan Act, according to its website. The grant was created to help venues, nonprofits and businesses that were hit hard during the pandemic. 

The grants were staggered over a period of 56 days starting in “late May” to three different priority levels — those with larger lost more than 90 percent, 70 percent and then 25 percent of their gross revenue. 

Eligible applicants qualified for grants equal to 45 percent of their gross earned revenue up to a maximum amount of $10 million for a single grant. The SBA is still giving supplemental funding to venues and organizations that have suffered 70 percent or greater gross revenue loss after April 1, 2021.

Sam’s Burger Joint – Live venue operator or promoter

Amount: $816,075

After months of live streaming shows and selling merchandise during the early months of the pandemic, Sam’s Burger Joint on Grayson Street reopened its dining room to limited capacities on May 20, 2020, along with the rest of San Antonio dining rooms. 

The Witte Museum – Museum Operator

Amount: $1 million

The Broadway museum reopened May 29, 2020, closed again only a month later amid a rise in COVID-19 cases. It has since reopened. 

The Alamo – Museum Operator

Amount: $1.4 million

The Alamo, like other attractions, was a ghost town for a few months after March 2020 as the pandemic pushed the city to mandate COVID-19 restrictions. It reopened in August 2020 at limited capacity. Even as Gov. Greg Abbott lifted mandated mask requirements, the historic site urged staff and customers to continue wearing masks while on the grounds. 

The DoSeum – Museum Operator

Amount: $1.6 million

The DoSeum closed its doors early on in the pandemic. It was set to reopen to the public on June 29, 2020, but shifted its reopening to July 1 amid rising cases. 

Cowboys Dancehall – Live venue operator or promoter

Amount: $1.9 million

Cowboys has had its fair share of problems and controversies during the pandemic, including numerous citations for overcrowded shows. Despite that, longtime dance hall has more shows lined up.

Whitewater Amphitheater – Live venue operator or promoter

Amount: $2.5 million

The New Braunfels music venue by the river was postponing and canceling shows into 2021 during the pandemic. Concerts didn’t pick up until April 2021 with its first show in its VIP Concert Series, offering limited seating social-distancing seating. 

City Base Cinema – Motion picture theater operator

Amount: $2.8 million

City Base Cinema was also another venue hit by the pandemic like so many businesses. To adapt, it offered locals the chance to rent out an entire screen for private screenings to bring people back to the theater. 

The Tobin Center for the Performing Arts – Live venue operator or promoter

Amount: $4.9 million

The Tobin Center relies on a live audience, and surprisingly, the venue was way ahead of the game with its advanced seating technology that allows it to remove whole rows of seating to adhere to social-distancing guidelines. 

Santikos Entertainment – Motion picture theater operator

Amount: $10 million

Santikos was forced to close its theaters as COVID-19 case numbers rose in March 2020, and then slowly reopen its theaters May with spaced-out seating. It is now expanding with plans to open its 10th theater in New Braunfels.  

 San Antonio Zoo – Museum Operator

Amount: $10 million 

The pandemic pushed the San Antonio staple to try new things to keep itself in operation, which included turning into a drive-through zoo attraction that caught national attention.