Scanlon questions aid given to restaurant closed for 7 years

EAST LANSDOWNE » On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-5 of Swarthmore, sent a series of oversight letters to the U.S. Small Business Administration, PNC Bank, and Buca Restaurants Inc. concerning the questionable approval of a Paycheck Protection Program loan for Buca Restaurants,

headquartered at the former location of Buca di Beppo restaurant in Wynnewood. It has been closed for seven years.

Company officials, who have scheduled a call with the congresswoman on Monday, say there was a mistake in the address on the application and that payroll funds were received by dozens of the chain restaurants that are still open.

The PPP Program was designed to support small business during the many challenges presented by the current global health and financial crisis.

In the letters, Scanlon wrote, “It is important that we conduct thorough oversight of the funds that have already been dispersed so that future funds can be fairly and effectively distributed. I am particularly concerned that the loan for Buca Restaurants Inc. lists an address in my district that is neither its registered business address nor its headquarters, and was the site of a Buca di Beppo restaurant that has been closed for seven years.”

Her letters continued, “It is important that the loan information provided to or disclosed by the SBA be accurate. American taxpayers deserve to know that PPP funds are being used for the intended purpose of saving businesses in their communities.”

Following bipartisan requests from members of Congress and Freedom of Information Act requests from journalists, the SBA agreed to disclose PPP loan information detailing where taxpayer funds had gone and how many jobs were saved.

“In its disclosure, the SBA revealed that a PPP loan saved 500 Buca di Beppo jobs in my district that do not exist, in addition to the SBA not providing information to correctly place jobs saved by retail or restaurant chains,” Scanlon continued.

The congresswoman requests that Buca and PNC Bank correct the inaccuracies in the loan application and calls on the SBA to affirm its commitment to transparency and integrity in order to safeguard the more than $500 billion in taxpayer funds distributed through the Paycheck Protection Program.

Buca di Beppo officials said that’s in the process of being done.

“There was an error made in the address when the PPP application was filed by the bank but the funds did get to the correct place and were used in support of payroll for the 76 Buca di Beppo restaurants in the U.S.,” company spokeswoman Amy Sadowsky said.

On Thursday, she added, “As of today the bank has found the source of the error and it is going to be corrected.”

Sadowsky said it was her understanding that the bank is in direct communication with Scanlon and the bank has informed her that they will handle the issue.

She added that Buca representatives have a call with the congresswoman on Monday to address any concerns she has regarding the situation.