Financial help for restaurant owners
For those in the hard-hit restaurant and hospitality industry, the second round of PPP loans also increased the borrowing cap from 2.5 times their normal payroll to 3.5 times.
“They knew these guys needed more help than the average borrower,” said James Quitadamo, chief credit officer for the Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod.
One sign that may indicate business owners are feeling more confident about the future this year is that there isn’t the same frenzied rush to get in on the second round of PPP loans. Last year, the first round of loans ran out of money within 13 days and the program needed a supplemental Congressional appropriation to refund it.
HYANNIS When Gov. Charlie Baker shut down the state on March 14 to curtail the spread of the coronavirus, Cape Cod Beer owners Todd and Beth Marcus closed their doors and furloughed most of their staff while continuing to pay their benefits.
The couple then regrouped to consider the new business landscape.
“My husband and I had a conversation. Is summer 2020 going to happen?” Beth Marcus recalled. “We decided it would.”
What essentially had been a bar business, with most people standing to drink beer, became a sit-down affair with food and drink offered under a tent outside. In the colder months, they set up tables inside their warehouse.