Jacksonville’s small business relief grants exhausted in first 15 minutes

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It took only 15 minutes for applications to be exhausted Friday when the city of Jacksonville opened the third round of small business relief grants.

Some businesses, like Latin Creations Puerto Rican Kitchen, got left out.

Lunchtime at Latin Creations brings in a steady stream of hungry customers.

But owner Beatrice Chandler said the lunch rush in 2020, is not like it was in 2019.

“We’re trying to do our best because we are open, and we are blessed because we’re open, but it’s been a little hard this year,” said Chandler.

Chandler was able to secure a PPP loan earlier this year and is now applying to have it forgiven.

But as the pandemic stretches on, she’s worried about the future.

This is why she tried applying this morning to Jacksonville’s small business relief grant program.

“When we were finally able to get in at about 9:15, it was in red, all the slots are taken,” she said.

In a tweet, the city said it received 1,000 applications in the first 15 minutes.

A total of 875 qualifying applicants will receive up to $2,000.

“That helps so much because we’re taking extra precautions because of COVID like we sanitize and that’s an added expense right now,” said Chandler.

Chandler’s 12 employees will keep their jobs this year but if things don’t get better soon, she may be forced to make tough decisions.

“Unfortunately, it might be letting someone go or cutting hours. We already cut operation hours,” said Chandler.

She has this message for lawmakers in Washington.

“Please figure it out,” said Chandler.

The city will give out a total of $1.7 million during this round to businesses that can prove they lost revenue since February because of COVID-19.

Cox Media Group