When a Cabinet member wants to know how PPP loans are going, she heads to Charlotte.
The Goodyear House in NoDa was one of the Charlotte businesses that received a Paycheck Protection Program loan early on during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We were fortunate to get that PPP funding, so we’re trying to use it for exactly what it was made for — to put some people back to work. We brought back all our staff to come back and help us reopen,” Chef/partner Chris Coleman told CharlotteFive’s Shawn Flynn in April. Flynn wanted to know how the loans were working out for the restaurant.
On Friday, the United States government wanted to know the answer to that same question.
Trump Cabinet member Jovita Carranza, the U.S. Small Business Administration administrator, came from D.C. to have lunch and ask the NoDa restaurant owners herself.
‘It’s been a blessing to put everybody back to work’
Owner A.J. Klenk said the entire staff was just so happy to get back to work and feel a little bit of normalcy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s been a blessing to put everybody back to work and see smiles on people’s faces, even if it’s under a mask. We can sense that in our staff.”
Coleman’s face, even half covered by a mask, was the perfect example. “He has this smile on his face, this glow on his face,” Carranza said, gesturing toward Coleman’s eyes.
“You were a small business that needed a lifeline for paycheck protection. That’s what it was designed for, and you’ve been able to apply that. That’s one of the reasons I came out here to visit, to speak to people like yourself,” Carranza said. “Not only how to experience this traumatic pandemic, but how do you recover and transition?”
Klenk said a new restaurant could typically expect to break even in month three or month four, but the coronavirus pandemic prevented that from being a possibility for The Goodyear House, which closed to prevent community spread of COVID-19 a little more than 6 weeks after opening.
The restaurant got creative with solutions, offering social distancing pig pickings, takeout from a window on the front porch, and now, reopening at 50 percent capacity with a new, expanded patio.
“The mortgage relief was a huge benefit, as well,” general manager Sean Potter told Carranza. The restaurant was able to get six months of deferred mortgage payments.
Other Charlotte stops
Before arriving at The Goodyear House, Carranza and her team stopped by a church. Carranza said the faith-based organization’s leader gave her advice on ways the government could do better: including technical assistance and offering coaching and mentoring to the businesses that are slowly recovering. “Perhaps we can help them transition from financing to full recovery. Although it will be slow, we definitely need the small businesses to really fuel the economy,” Carranza said.
After lunch, she planned to attend a roundtable with lenders who helped provide some of Charlotte’s PPP loans.
North Carolina was Carranza’s first stop on her trips to see how the PPP loans are going. She also planned to visit Dallas to talk to the community there as hurricane season begins.
Advice for other small business owners
Klenk had advice for other small business owners who haven’t yet navigated the PPP system. “There are a ton of great banks out there to help with that. That’s what I would tell a small business owner that hasn’t applied: find a good banker. If they want, they can call me at The Goodyear House and I’m happy to connect them to a couple. I think we all have to rally together.”
“Yes, the networking is really beneficial within your sector as retailers or restaurants,” Carranza said.
“There’s still over $100 billion worth of funds available to small businesses. For those entrepreneurs who are self-employed or sole proprietors, share your positive experience. We don’t want anyone to be apprehensive,” she said.
Small businesses represent about 44% of North Carolina’s work force. In North Carolina, there are about 900,000 small businesses, Carranza said. “And you’re one of them. I’m just so pleased with the invitation to be here.”
This story was originally published May 29, 2020 at 2:59 PM.
