GREENCASTLE — Putnam County restaurant owners said it's week five of trying to keep their small business afloat. The couple that owns the business have taken steps to make it through the COVID-19 pandemic and keep their workers on the job.
"This is your Cheers of Greencastle where everybody knows your name, everyone comes in, hangs out and has a beer or a drink," Pete Meyer, co-owner of Moore's Bar and Restaurant in Greencastle, said.
Business was booming at Moore's Bar and Restaurant until March 16 when Gov. Eric Holcomb ordered restaurants and bars to close because of COVID-19.
"We have employees we had to lay off five of them," Julie Meyer, co-owner, said.
Right away Julie and Pete Meyer went into preservation mode. They reached out to the Small Business Administration and applied for loans and grants. They even filed an insurance claim.
"Our insurance claims were denied because the COVID-19 doesn't fall within their language," Julie said.
It brought them back to square one of waiting to hear back from the SBA.
"We've had our credit checked twice but we've never been approved," Pete said.
"We've received two separate notifications since then from the SBA saying we are under review, saying submit more, submit more so we do," Julie said.
It leaves them between a rock and a hard place. The couple hasn't been denied but it's hard to play the waiting game while so much needs to be handled. It can take up to 90 days from the initial application to release funds and the timeline depends on the size of the loan and other factors, like purpose of the loan and experience of the lender.
They Meyers have been able to keep three employees on staff and want to bring back the other five if they get the loan.
