Earlier this month, Arlington Kabob cooked up hot dinners for a cause. About two weeks ago, the restaurant donated 75 individually packaged meals to the Children's Inn at the National Institutes of Health. The nonprofit provides housing and programming to young people with rare diseases being researched and treated at the NIH campus in Bethesda.
Arlington Kabob has consistently delivered on its promise to serve the community with fresh ingredients and unwavering support. I recently spoke with the restaurant's owner, Susan Clementi. Susan established Arlington Kabob in 2013, creating a woman-owned business that has thrived for nearly a decade. Like many new restaurants, they persevered through the challenging first couple
January 15, 2021 at 12:30pm
At the start of the pandemic, Arlington Kabob co-owner Susan Clementi spent 20 hours a day trying to coronavirus-proof her restaurant. She did not have time, or the financial knowledge, to navigate the Paycheck Protection Program.
When she tried to hire legal help, the application fees amounted to $5,000. Clementi realized she had to do it herself.
Arlington Kabob was denied funding, but what frustrated Clementi the most was seeing restaurants that had a dozen locations receive loans.
“I felt very, very small,” she said.
Her experience during the first round of PPP played out across the nation.
The Small Business Administration and the banks issuing the loans were criticized for awarding funds first to bigger companies while overlooking smaller and minority-owned businesses. For round two, the SBA opened applications for small-scale, local lenders this week, and is expanding access to all eligible lenders next Tuesday.