TROY, Mich. (WXYZ) — Stephanie Beck shared with 7 Action News a picture taken ten months ago as her Sweetwaters Coffee and Tea franchise opened in the Troy City Center.
Her customers have been mostly workers at area businesses. She never imagined that all of those businesses would have to be shutdown due to a pandemic.
“It has been an actual nightmare to be honest with you and super stressful,” Beck said.
At first she stayed open. As time went on, her sales dropped and dropped. After a day where she brought in only about $25, she decided it would be less expensive to just close.
Beck tried to focus on what she could do. She still delivered donations of coffee and treats to first responders. She applied for a small business loan, asking for about $20,000. She wanted to be on top of it. She gave her bank all the info needed for the Paycheck Protection Program before the program launched so her application would be first in line. Still, she got an email from her bank letting her know that before her application could be processed the program ran out of money.
“It is heart wrenching," she said. "I probably cried for an hour straight."
When Congress approved the Paycheck Protection Program, lawmakers called it a lifeline for small businesses. It offered $349 billion in forgivable government loans to small businesses to pay their employees as everyone gets through the COVID-19 crisis.
However, in days the program ran out of money. Local small business owners say they feel big businesses who didn’t really need the loans abused the program.
Both Ruth’s Chris Steak House, a company with $86 million in cash reserves according to public filings, and Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chao, were approved for $20 million each.
They did not respond to our requests for comment.
“I wasn’t asking for millions of dollars," Beck said. "I was just asking for a little bit . It is heartbreaking you find out a lot of people are applying who don’t even need it."
On Monday, Representative Elissa Slotkin told the Small Business Association of Michigan she expects lawmakers will approve more money for businesses as soon as this week. She expects there will be provisions to ensure smaller businesses benefit.
Beck says if there is not help soon businesses like hers may have to close permanently.
“I will be lucky if I can survive a month or two tops,” she said.