VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — COVID-19 has changed business plans for many restaurant owners in Hampton Roads.
“The business model changed for me probably seven, eight times from the time we started this to where we are now," Luce restaurant owner Antonio Caruana said.
Caruana explained his Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan funds only helped his business for a short period of time.
“The business model isn’t to sustain what we’re doing right now. So hopefully, the PPP does get forgiven, which it should... hopefully, if there’s another round for it, it comes soon,” said Caruana.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) sent us this statement expressing how business owners will qualify for the forgiveness:
“As we’ve explained to borrowers and lenders, forgiveness depends on the borrowers filling out the forms indicating that at least 60% of the loan money was used for payroll expenses, and the remaining 40% on approved accounts payable such as rent and utilities.”
“So hopefully, we can get through this all and once it becomes forgiven, I’m hoping it all works out... the way they advertised it, to when they easily gave us the loan,” said Caruana.
The SBA sent 13News Now a statement via email with a PPP Loan update:
“The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has been an overwhelming success for America’s vitally important small business sector. To date, this unprecedented program approved more than 5.2 million loans worth $525 billion in much-needed relief funding in just four months. On Saturday, August 8, 2020 at 11:59 p.m., the PPP closed to new loan applications and adjustments. Over $120 billion remained at the time of closing, demonstrating the PPP’s success in meeting the critical economic needs of American small businesses and their workers. The Administration is fully committed to supporting American workers and small businesses as we safely reopen our economy.”
On Tuesday, The SBA posted an 11-page question and answer portion about the loan forgiveness: