Martin said the pandemic put her on the brink of shutting the hair salon’s doors for good.
“I’ve had my business for almost 40 years and I’ve never had anything like this happen,” she said. “That’s a lot of hard sweat and blood and money and tears to have to think about your business going out after so long.”
Martin said she has spent at least $6,000 in expenses on deep cleaning, new paint, Plexiglas and personal protective equipment to make the salon safe for customers and stylists. The figure doesn’t begin to account for the loss of business during the two months salons in the state were shuttered, she said.
Montgomery County commissioners formally approved 206 of the awards on Tuesday; another 398 have been approved by the Montgomery County Office of CARES Act. As of Tuesday, 324 awards had been distributed. But the roughly $6 million now approved for small businesses remains a fraction of the $40 million set aside for the program.
“While many small businesses have received CARES Act grants, we want business owners to know that there are still plenty of funds available.,” said Marvene Mitchell-Cook, director of the CARES Act office.. “There are many small businesses in our county, including sole proprietorships, that we know are still struggling.”
Montgomery County received $92.77 from the U.S. Treasury Department’s first CARES Act allocation in May that went to state and county governments with populations above 500,000.
More information about the grant program and how to apply is available online at mcohiocares.org, but businesses must apply before the end of the year when federal funding ceases, according to the county.
In addition to multiple salons and barbershops, aid from the county’s CARES ACT funds is going to wide array of businesses, from operators of bars and restaurants to hotels, tattoo parlors and law offices.
The United States Air and Trade Show. Inc. is also among the recipients. The 2020 Vectren Dayton Air Show, originally scheduled for June, was first postponed and then cancelled. Other familiar area names that received grants are Wright Dunbar, Inc. and Coco’s Bistro. Operators of two small area community movie theaters, the By-Jo Theatre in Germantown and the Plaza Theatre Association in Miamisburg, also received grants, according to the county.
LaSue Juniel, owner of Dayton Fit Lab, said the grant provided a “cushion” to keep the nutrition and fitness center afloat. The virus hit just after the small business moved to Kettering.
“We just opened up in a new location, were doing great. Then we didn’t have any classes at all,” Juniel said.
The business was allowed to reopen to serve nutritional shakes and later to hold classes, but at a far reduced capacity with an increase in expenses, Juniel said.
“We spend a lot of money on PPE (personal protective equipment) and sanitizing,” she said. “We had to reduce class sizes, (limiting) the amount of people that we can have in the building.”
Juniel remains hopeful business will get back to normal, but said she can’t operate as before the pandemic.
“The grant helped us keep going,” she said. “It gave us a cushion to devise a plan to move forward.”
County commissioners have twice relaxed the eligibility requirements for small businesses to apply for the grants. Small businesses with up to 50 employees and annual receipts up to $5 million may now apply and are no longer disqualified if they previously received Paycheck Protection Program assistance.
County records show of the 1,310 applicants, 44% are minority-owned businesses, 7% veteran-owned and 6% are owned by women.
Martin said business hasn’t slowed since salons were allowed to reopen.
“It took off immediately because people were pulling their hair out,” she said. “I mean, they were so ready to get in here.”
New programs on way
County commissioners on Tuesday also approved three new grant programs aimed to distribute another $20 million of the CARES Act funds beginning next month.
The newest programs include $10 million to assist health care providers, $5 million for child cares and preschools, and $5 million for farmers and other agricultural businesses hurt by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the county.
“So many of the hospitals and health care organizations have been our front-line workers and they’ve been desperately needing supplies constantly. That’s really going to help them,” said Judy Dodge, Montgomery County Commission president.
Operators of agricultural businesses that meet forthcoming guidelines could get grants of up to $100,000, and those of day cares and preschools up to $30,000, according to the county.
The county has also rolled out programs for renters and homeowners behind on making housing and utility bill payments, as well as for educational institutions and nonprofits impacted by the pandemic.
As of Tuesday, 112 homeowners had received $568,743 in assistance paying mortgages while $425,556 had gone to 207 others to help pay for rent and utilities.
More information on each program and how to apply is available online at mcohiocares.org.
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