Local bakery utilizes Paycheck Protection Program to ease payroll burden during COVID-19 pandemic

Home Industry Bakery, located in Clarksburg, West Virginia, started 36 years ago with an SBA guaranteed loan.  Ten years later, when the business was forced to relocate, they turned to the SBA again for financial assistance; and now, when the COVID-19 health crisis has hit hard causing an unprecedented economic disruption, they are able to once again utilize SBA’s assistance through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

The bakery, owned by Mike and Pamela Harris, received $172,035 from City National Bank to cover payroll and operating expenses for eight weeks under the CARES act PPP. Harris was notified about the program from her West Virginia Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Coach, the SBDC is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with SBA to provide one-on-one coaching and training to West Virginia Small Businesses.

Through the funding Harris received she was able to keep approximately 30 employees on payroll. “Due to the Coronavirus I saw a 45 percent decrease in sales and was worried about meeting payroll,” noted Harris. “This program has just lifted so much of the stress I was under in collecting accounts receivables and being able to pay my employees that are like family.”

Harris found the process to be very simple due to the assistance she received from SBDC, City National Bank, and her accountant. “My SBDC Coach Todd Crump emailed me about the program, I filled out the application on April 9, spoke with my accountant for 10 minutes and he submitted the application on  April 14, the next day I was notified I was approved, and on April 21 I closed on the loan,” said Harris. “I feel like we have come full circle starting our business with the SBA and now getting this PPP loan to sustain our business during this crisis.”