Andrew Volk, co-owner of the Portland Hunt + Alpine Club, in Portland, Maine, complained about unwieldy PPP rules.
Photographer: Brianna Soukup/Bloomberg
Desperate Small Businesses Await Fresh Aid With or Without Flaws
New round of Paycheck Protection Program funding to focus on smaller companies as owners face ‘dark tunnel.’
Eight months after they got a $56,000 forgivable loan from the federal government, Lauren and Ben Reese lie awake nights talking about whether they’d do it again.
Don’t get them wrong. Like most small-business owners who took part in the $523 billion Paycheck Protection Program, the Reeses are grateful. In March, business dropped 30% overnight at their two cafes in Beaverton, Oregon. The taxpayer-funded relief helped them keep the doors open and retain most of their dozen employees.