The French Laundry has received over $2.4mn via PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) reportedly while small-scale, less-known restaurants struggled for receiving an approval from the fed program which is designed for helping small-scale businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, showed an analysis by ABC7 News.
In July, Eater reported that The French Laundry had received $2-$5mn in PPP funds based on one list that was released publicly by Small Business Administration (SBA). However, the list didn’t give precise loan amounts.
The Yountville-based restaurant received 2 loans, both of which were approved on 30 April, as per ABC7, who went through the data it received from SBA. As per SBA, the first loan it received was for over $2.2mn for retaining 163 employees. On the other hand, the other loan the Michelin-star restaurant received was for $194,656 for keeping 5 employees.
The 2020 CARES Act established PPP for providing funds to small-scale business organizations to pay around 8 weeks payroll costs, which includes benefits. The funds can be utilized for paying rent, utilities and interests on mortgages as well.
The over $2.4mn provided to The French Laundry was seventeen times more than compared to what the Bay Area restaurant got through PPP, as per ABC7.
