White House, GOP face heat after hotel and restaurant chains helped run small business program dry

[Eugene]

Source: Washington Post

White House, GOP face heat after hotel and restaurant chains helped run small business program dry

With program out of money, backlash prompts executives at Shake Shack to return $10 million loan.

By Jonathan O'Connell
April 20, 2020 at 10:37 a.m. EDT

The federal government gave national hotel and restaurant chains millions of dollars in grants before the $349 billion program ran out of money Thursday, leading to a backlash that prompted one company to give the money back and a Republican senator to say that “millions of dollars are being wasted.”

Thousands of traditional small businesses were unable to get funding from the program before it ran dry. As Congress and the White House near a deal to add an additional $310 billion to the program, some are calling for additional oversight and rule changes to prevent bigger chains from accepting any more money.

Ruth’s Chris Steak House, a chain that has 150 locations and is valued at $250 million, reported receiving $20 million in funding from the small business portion of the economic stimulus legislation called the Paycheck Protection Program. The Potbelly chain of sandwich shops, which has more than 400 locations and a value of $89 million, reported receiving $10 million last week.

Shake Shack, a $1.6 billion burger-and-fries chain based in New York City, received $10 million. After complaints from small business advocates when the fund went dry, company founder Danny Meyer and chief executive Randy Garutti announced Sunday evening that they would return the money.

They said they had no idea that the program would run out of money so quickly and that they understood the uproar.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/20/white-house-gop-face-heat-after-hotel-restaurant-chains-helped-run-small-business-program-dry/

[SWBTATTReg]

1. That's really nice. One industry hogged the whole program's worth of benefits, meant for ..

everyone, not just them. What a bunch of selfish and out of control idiots. I'd say the restaurant and hotel industry get nothing for the next 10 years at least.

[elleng]

2. they had no idea

[Midnight Writer]

3. Republicans slipped this into the bill. It allows corporations in if they have branches of

less than 500 employees. The less than 500 employees was supposed to restrict grants to small businesses.

For example, a restaurant or hotel chain would not be eligible, but since each location has less than 500 employees, they are able to qualify.

The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away.

[procon]

4. Hmm... "hotel and restaurant" benefited the most?

We're they tipped off in advance? Did they have all their paperwork sent to them and completed, everything ready to send in at the one second past midnight start date?

What's are the odds of Trump's friends in the hospitality industry would get the lions share of the money?

[getagrip_already]

5. what are the odds trumps properties got huge loans...

despite the effort to stipulate they wouldn't be eligible, mistakes happen and money could have been granted.

[Auggie]

6. Ruth's Chris Steak House: over-priced dreck

Grill your own steaks for a fraction of the price. I'll never step foot in another Ruth’s Chris Steak House.