PENDLETON — Many local restaurants may have survived the heaviest COVID-19 restrictions with the help of millions of federal stimulus, but they’re not out of the woods yet.

According to a database compiled by The Oregonian, the U.S. Small Business Administration granted more than a half billion dollars to more than 2,300 Oregon restaurants, bars and other businesses that prepare food and drink as a part of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, a federal stimulus program specifically targeted to aid restaurants affected by the pandemic.

Umatilla County restaurants took home more than $4.3 million, led by a $1.2 million for Hamley’s, which operates a steakhouse and cafe. Hamley’s was purchased by the Wildhorse Resort & Casino in 2019, and as a tribally-owned business, it didn’t qualify for many of the grants and loans previously offered by other governmental entities, Wildhorse Controller Michell Wellington said in an interview. But Hamley’s finances were in order when the Restaurant Revitalization Fund opened, allowing the local operation to secure a large grant.

Wellington and Hamley’s General Manager Jan MacGregor said the business has endured cycles of closures, takeout only periods and capacity limits, following state guidelines each time they changed. At times, they elected to close the steakhouse completely rather than takeout because it was the more affordable option.

“As a steakhouse (offering) fine dining, people didn’t want a piece of prime rib and take it home,” MacGregor said.

When the steakhouse did reopen in February, it operated at a loss due to higher labor and food costs. Wellington said Hamley’s has been operating at closer to breakeven in recent months, but large events still have been slow to come back in 2021, hurting business. The federal grant will cover some of the steakhouse and cafe’s losses, but with Hamley’s having a smaller staff than it did pre-pandemic, MacGregor said this year’s Round-Up service will be different.

“We will not be able to accommodate as many people as we have in the past because of staffing, but the people that we do accommodate will have a wonderful time,” she said.

Desert Lanes Family Fun Center, also a recipient of Oregon’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund, received the highest amount out of any business in Hermiston with a total of $426,500.

As a bowling alley and family entertainment venue, the operators weren’t sure they would even qualify for the grant. However, a large part of the businesses’ revenue came from food and beverage sales, according to Ray Fields, the center’s manager, and this made Desert Lanes eligible.

Desert Lanes, which has gone from about 23 employees in March 2020 to just nine, has faced a tough road with restrictions stamped down on the bowling alley, Fields said, but the funds helped take a weight off their shoulders.

“We weren’t overly concerned about closing the doors,” Fields said. “But it took a burden off of us if things kept continuing to prolong.”

He said the business community in Hermiston has been helpful in reminding and helping each other with grants and loans that have been opened up since COVID-19 struck, and Fields said they had been fortunate to have received help from Business Oregon, Umatilla County and the city of Hermiston.

“What money we’ve gotten, we’ve basically been putting right back into making sure that our payrolls, our staff is taken care of. our daily operational cost of the business.”

He mentioned the Revitalization Fund money came in a lump sum and it was left up to the business owners to stretch that out over a long period to ensure their businesses stayed afloat. And, when the time comes, business owners will have to show how they used their money.

“You’re going to be held accountable,” Fields said.

Beyond the large grants, plenty of small restaurants in Umatilla County received more modest four and five-figure grants. Many received grants as sole proprietors or limited liability companies, meaning the grant wasn’t always made out to the restaurant’s name.

Pendleton’s Great Pacific Wine & Coffee Co. got $96,840 from the fund, money co-owner Carol Hanks said went to cover staffing costs. Hanks said the various grants offered to Great Pacific have helped the restaurant survived, but its struggling to retain customers who refuse to comply with the state’s mask mandate.

She said Great Pacific has hired a great crop of new employees, but mask compliance during Round-Up remains a concern.