ORLANDO, Fla. — State Rep. Anna Eskamani has released a list outlining the 1,000 small businesses in Florida that received emergency bridge loans to help them through the coronavirus pandemic.
- Florida allocated only $50 million in bridge loans
- 1,000 firms received loans; more than 38,000 applied
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The businesses got a collective $49.4 million from Florida’s Small Business Emergency Bridge Loans program.
Orlando hotelier Alpesh Khushal received $300,000 for his companies, which own a series of hotels on International Drive (made in three separate $100,000 loans).
The pair who owns Crafted Beer & Wine, Menagerie Eatery, and Orlando Wine Company also received $300,000 from the program, while John Rivers, who is listed as the borrower for three Central Florida-area 4 Rivers Smokehouse restaurants also received $300,000, again all in individual $100,000 loans, plus an additional $100,000 for his Winter Park restaurant The Coop.
John Burr, owner of Longdoggers locations in Brevard County, received money from the program. We previously reported that Burr planned to use money from a separate federal program, the CARES Act, to raise his employees' salaries while the locations move to takeout-only service. According to the list, Burr got $410,000 for his businesses in bridge loans.
In all, there were 127 $100,000 bridge loans issued, totaling $12.7 million. About $1 million was distributed through 14 loans ranging between $60,000 and $99,000.
The bulk of the funding was provided in 623 loans, each for $50,000.
Some 180 loans were distributed, between $9,000 and $40,000 totaling $4.5 million.