The House is set to vote tomorrow on a $480 billion dollar aid package, much of which would go to boosting a program for small businesses, many of whom did not get aid through the first round of relief. But many small mom and pop shops say the delays have been frustrating and are having a detrimental impact on their business.
“We’re a huggy, squeezy feely kinda place,” says Yanni Placourakis, co-owner of the pizza joint 1400 Bar and Grill in Alameda. “It’s a neighborhood joint. We sell it to little kids that walk by… walking their dogs or riding their bikes and look in to see if we’re here and they scream and yell.”
Placourakis is a longtime Alameda resident who co-owns the restaurant with a kindergarten classmate. He has 30 employees and eight of them are the children of people he grew up with. It is precisely the type of place most people will think of when they think of a small business, but his grant applications so far have not been approved.
“All of my applications I filled out are now obsolete so I had to start another one - the whole process again yesterday - because a whole new application came out on the 20th,” says Placourakis. “So I’m trying, I’m squeezing. I read all of the qualifications you need to get that loan: small business, less than so many employees, I fit every single bit of that to the tee. It’s just kinda scary. It’s scary but I’m hoping for the best.”
The restaurant is still open for takeout so that he can literally keep the lights on and continue paying his two full-time employees.
There have been complaints that many larger businesses with hundreds of employees, multiple locations and more resources were able to apply for the first round of small business relief first. But Placourakis says all he wants is a fair chance at the federal safety net.
“I have a hunch it’s gonna work out, I just don’t know when. And the ‘when’ is the part that’s hardest.”