The city’s restaurant and bar assistance fund had received more than 60 applications as of Friday afternoon, City Manager Nate Pagan said.

A number of those applications had already been approved, Pagan said, adding that the city will begin distributing the assistance to restaurants soon.

“We’ll review those as quickly as we can, and we hope to have checks going out by the end of the month,” Pagan said.

Last week, the city announced the $750,000 “OBKY Restaurant/Bar Supplemental Payroll Program” for restaurants that have struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program was created to help restaurant and bar workers who have lost wages due to decreased restaurant business. Of the funds allocated to restaurants or bars, 90% must be used to supplement employee salaries.

Pagan said the city had received 64 applications as of Friday afternoon, the last day to apply for assistance. The applications are being processed quickly, he said.

“It’s a simple process. It doesn’t take us long to review” the applications, Pagan said. “We are reviewing as we go.”

“I know when there were 58 applications (earlier this week), 54 had already been approved,” he said.

The payments will go out in a lump sum. Pagan said the funds will be distributed to restaurants based on the number of employees, with an emphasis on employees who work close to full-time.

“It is the intention to bifurcate (the fund), where employees who work 30 hours or more a week get more,” Pagan said.

The city will distribute the full $750,000, he said.

City officials have been working to resolve issues with applications that required more information.

“If there’s something that’s incomplete or needs more information, our staff will talk with them,” Pagan said. “We will work with them to get the proper information.”