Small businesses hurt by the I-80 sinkholes are being offered help. The Small Business Administration on Tuesday set up a Business Recovery Center in the Wharton Municipal Building, where business owners can apply for low-interest loans and grants.
Jim Hill, owner of the Knotty Pine Pub in Wharton, was one of the first to apply.
“I think it went very well. The guys that are doing the SBA loans are very, very knowledgeable,” he said. “St. Patrick’s Day, we were down over $2,000 from last year’s numbers, and my overall numbers are down like a thousand a week.”
On the state level, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority will vote Wednesday on creating a $5 million grant program for affected businesses.
“We’re all in this together,” said Wharton Councilwoman Nicole Wickenheisser. “I think it’s really important that we just really help support one another right now.”
“The goal is to keep these businesses solvent and going, so then when everything does reopen, people come back,” said Assemblywoman Aura Dunn (R-Morris). “That’s one of the big concerns that if people developed other habits, and they won’t return.”
