Erie County, N.Y. (WBEN) - Small businesses in Erie County are receiving funding through a loan/grant program with resources made available through the federal CARES Act.
Congressman Brian Higgins and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz were at Stack Burger in Lackawanna on Wednesday highlighting the Microenterprise Loan and Grant Program in Erie County which provides small businesses with five employees or fewer with a loan of up to $35,000, which businesses would only have to pay half back.
"We were in Washington developing a relief plan. The initial one, called the CARES Act, provided $4.4 million to Erie County. From that, the county executive under his leadership and the Department of Environment and Planning, distributed through the formula, through the Community Development Block Grant program, $1.3 million in federal money made available to small businesses with five employees or less, it's a 50/50 loan grant program," says Congressman Brian Higgins.
"It's a great opportunity for us to invest back in our community and one of the nice things is we re-invest that money, about $450,000 that's left over as a result of the payments that have already been made as part of this program, which we can then reinvest with other businesses in our community," says Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.
"We really feel this program is really unique. It's almost like a unicorn, it is a program that was specifically structured to help small businesses access capital, that they traditionally have had problems accessing through traditional resources banks, or lenders like that,' says Jerry Manhard, Chief Lending Officer for Erie County Industrial Development Agency.
"So what they've done is they've chosen to search strategically make the loans price that 2% interest rate, well below market rate and offer very favorable terms for the borrowers so they can use their revenue, they earn more of it and reinvest back into the businesses," says Manhard.
Stack Burger in Lackawanna is one of the 65 businesses that have received the loan, comprised of $35,000.
"We filled out all the paperwork, we were lucky enough to get it and with it, we were able to fix our parking lot and now we're expanding our menu and opening up a cafe side for breakfast and stuff that I've been wanting to do. The money has just been so great for that and to expand further, get new some new equipment and keep on employees when sometimes the sales go down in a restaurant," says Anthony Giangrosso, co-owner and chef of Stack Burger.
For the full announcement, see the player below: