Without Latest Round Of PHL COVID-19 Relief Fund Grants, South Philly Cafe 'Probably Would Have Closed'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Some business owners feel their days are numbered because they just don't have the money to stay open or reopen at all. Help is coming just in time from the PHL COVID-19 Relief Fund. One local business owner says the money is keeping them afloat for now.
Two Eagles Cafe serves some typical dishes, but the Karaj family, which owns the Point Breeze restaurant at 20th and Reed Streets, also makes sure to showcase some of their popular Albanian specialties.
"We have our kofta, which is our Albanian-style meatballs," Neta Karaj said. "We are an immigrant-owned business."
That business opened less than two years ago and for the past two-plus months, the 20 seats inside have been stacked and all operations happening at a safe distance from a takeout window.
"We never let anyone inside," Karaj said.
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But even with the modifications to how they operate, Karaj, the owner's daughter, says like many small businesses, sales are way down.
"Over the past three months, I think we lost probably 50% to 60%," Karaj said.
Fortunately, Two Eagles Cafe, along with 2,082 other small businesses, received funding from the PHL COVID-19 Relief Fund. There were more than 7,000 applicants with a total budget of $12.2 million.
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Owners could receive three types of fund money: loans of up to $100,000; small business grants of up to $25,000; or micro-enterprise grants capped at $5,000.
Two Eagles Cafe received $5,000.
Without it, the cafe "probably would have closed," Karaj says.
Now, Karaj estimates her family's business can stay open through July. By then, she hopes there is some return to normalcy in the city and maybe some familiar masked faces inside the cafe.
"We are pretty much a neighborhood business," Karaj said. "A lot of our customers live down the block or really close by."
City officials say the fund still has about $3.7 million left to distribute. After that, there will not be additional funding offered.
For a full list of small businesses that's received funding, click here.
