Jacksonville small business await loans due to COVID-19 hardship

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Small businesses across the country are awaiting federal loans to help with the economic hardships created by COVID-19.

But some locals tell Action News Jax they haven’t been able to get assistance.

Friday, staff at Drake’s Bistro in St. Augustine worked hard to get a large delivery order ready for the National Guard.

These days, they’re grateful for whatever they can get.

“We were within just a couple of weeks of being caught up and finally, maybe showing a profit in such a short time, and got knocked right on our butts, right in our tracks,” owner Tammy Drake said. “It’s slow. It’s bad.”

Like so many others nationwide, Drake tried to apply for the paycheck protection program, a federal small business loan set up to help keep businesses open and paying their employees.

“I went online to get my packet ready and found out that Bank of America was only processing the loans for business customers who currently had a line of business credit with them, which I do not have a line of credit. We used every penny we had to open this place,” Drake said.

That was last week.

For Drake, it was like things went from bad to worse.

“[It’s] heartbreaking,” Drake said. “I don’t think we’re going to make it. We’re trying hard every day.”

But Friday, Action News Jax reached out to Bank of America and found out 24 hours after opening the application process, it expanded the businesses eligible to include people who use checking accounts with them for business.

That includes people like Drake.

Now, she’s optimistic she’ll get the loan, knowing every little bit will help her and her employees.

© 2020 Cox Media Group