Here Are 20 Independent Brooklyn Restaurants Still Waiting on a Federal Loan

Two weeks after the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) started accepting applications, it appears that the loans haven’t been disbursed equally. Early recipients of the federal program have included big-name chain restaurants like Shake Shack (which later returned the funds), Potbelly, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, and seemingly few small businesses — though larger chains are required disclose these amounts, unlike smaller independent establishments.

Last week, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce surveyed 281 Brooklyn businesses and found that 84 percent of the businesses surveyed still had their loan applications pending by the time the PPP program ran out of money on April 16, a spokesperson for the organization says. Among them are 20 restaurants, including Gowanus bakery Runner and Stone and Bushwick Vietnamese restaurant Falansai. Six of them are certified MWBEs, or minority/women-owned business enterprises, and none had received any funding from the program as of April 17.

The PPP has been heavily criticized by NYC restaurateurs for not doing nearly enough, with Moshe Schulman of East Village wine bar Ruffian going so far as to call it “a Band-Aid for a wound that needs surgery.” But right now, anything helps. Of the initial $342 billion allocated by PPP nationally, more than 81,000 loans amounting to roughly $20 billion were granted to New York state businesses, according to a report from the U.S. Small Business Administration, though the report doesn’t say how much of that went to restaurants.

Restaurants may see an additional $300 billion in PPP funding come through Congress soon, but these 28 small food businesses — and many, many others — are still holding their breath in the meantime.

Restaurants

Waterfront Russian restaurant Baku Palace in Sheepshead Bay

Neighborhood Italian spot Belli Osteria in Clinton Hill

Clinton Hill coffee shop and small-batch coffee roaster BKG

Crown Heights ice cream parlor Creme and Cocoa Creamery

Bushwick Vietnamese kitchen Falansai

East New York Caribbean and soul food spot Fusion East Restaurant

Bay Ridge cafe and home goods store the Hom Cafe

All-day coffee and tea shop Liebre Cafe in Sunset Park

Park Slope bar and restaurant Lizzie Kings

Homey Cobble Hill bakeshop Margaret Palca Bakes

Small-batch kombucha brewery Mombucha in Greenpoint

Park Slope’s exclusive dining and drinking social club the Montauk Club

Italian panzerotti restaurant Panzerotti Bites in Cobble Hill

Sunset Park hamburger restaurant Pete’s Brooklyn Eats

Cobble Hill French seafood restaurant Petite Crevette

Park Slope pasta and risotto restaurant Piccoli Trattoria

Neighborhood bakery and cafe Runner & Stone in Gowanus

Rustik, an American tavern in Clinton Hill

Middle Eastern grocer Sahadi’s on the border of Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights

Park Slope coffee and tea shop Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea

Wholesale vendors

Custom cookie, cake, and cupcake maker Bklyn Cake Studio in Park Slope

Brooklyn-based, women-owned Eat Chic Chocolates

Baked banana bread maker Dank Brooklyn

Wholesale coffee vendor Gotham Coffee Roasters, which has a shop in the Flatiron District but roasts its beans in Brooklyn

New Orleans-style cold brew wholesaler Grady’s, based in the Hunts Point

Harlem-based Jessie’s Nutty Cups, maker of peanut butter cups

Brunch catering company Munch Hours Inc.

Hungarian wine and spirits importer Palinkerie in East Williamsburg