‘It’s a start’
Nearly 900 Santa Fe small businesses receive CARES relief grants, providing a needed — if short-lived — reprieve
Ayear ago, the Garcia Street Club preschool had one large playground.
But as the school reopened in mid-June for a time after the first state-imposed lockdown, it became clear one playground would not do — not in the age of social distancing.
“What we decided to do was an eightweek summer camp, outside only,” said Rachel Lee Waldrop, Garcia Street Club’s executive director. “We had one big playground. We created four different playgrounds from one playground space.”
School leaders used planter boxes instead of fencing to set apart the smaller playgrounds.
That was one of many adjustments, including the need to cut enrollment in half due to safety concerns. But as the Garcia Street Club adjusted to the new realities brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, it found it could fund necessities and implement other COVID-19 measures with a $30,000 Small Business CARES Relief Grant issued in early January by the New Mexico Finance Authority.
Garcia Street was not alone. A $100 million infusion of federal money from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act allowed thousands of New Mexico small businesses to catch their breath, even if only briefly.
But while many recipients say they appreciate the help and question whether they would still be in business without it, they also acknowledge even sizable grants are just a stopgap — with some saying the money only takes care of payroll and other needs for the short term.
“You don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” said Santa Fe Harley-Davidson co-owner David Pearson, whose business received $30,000 in CARES funds. “I don’t want to complain. It certainly assists and helps. It covers about a month.”
The finance authority handed out CARES grants to 6,743 New Mexico businesses with fewer than 100 employees — among them 1,194 restaurants, a specific focus of the grant program.
In all, 14,136 businesses requested $156 million. Fewer than half of the applicants received grants. The awards were largely based on dividing profit/loss by the number of employees, with the state-mandated priority going to restaurants; hotels; and arts,
entertainment and recreation organizations. The funding formula also set targets for urban and rural grants.
“Grants went to those businesses that simply experienced a greater loss,” said Marquita Russel, CEO of the New Mexico Finance Authority. “There is not an unworthy business out there. How do you decide who is the most worthy?”
Russel acknowledged the criteria made some areas more likely to receive grants. Santa Fe, she said, is more dependent on its restaurant and hotel economy than Las Cruces. As a result, more Santa Fe businesses in those categories were likely to get assistance.
While $100 million sounds like a lot of money, split 6,743 ways it’s an average of $14,830 per grant.
“It was a lifeline to small businesses trying to get through for another month or two,” Russel said. “While we weren’t able to help everybody, we were able to define succinctly the need out there to help businesses [with potential legislation] that weren’t helped and those that need more help.”
In Santa Fe, 882 businesses received between $2,000 and $50,000. Another 835 applicants got nothing. However, more than half of the hopefuls from Santa Fe were given a grant, while statewide only 47 percent were funded.
During the 2021 legislative session, getting more relief to small businesses has been a priority. On Friday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed House Bill 11, which creates $200 million to help in the hiring and rehiring of employees.
The Legislature has several other bills in the pipeline to provide relief to a variety of businesses without violating the state’s anti-donation clause.
Senate Bill 1 would allow restaurants and bars to keep the gross receipts tax revenue they collect for one quarter, a sum budgeted at $100 million, said Sen. Jacob Candelaria, D-Albuquerque.
Senate Bill 2 would waive the liquor license fee for the coming year, and Senate Bill 3 is a small business recovery act making $500 million available for low-interest loans at 1 percent over 10 years.
But Candelaria said lawmakers will have to look at the longterm needs.
“The point is, our efforts are nowhere near done,” he said. “It will take a sustained effort over the next few years.”
Even with the help it received last year, the Garcia Street Club has been operating on a “several thousand dollars a month deficit” since reopening in June, Waldrop said.
“We need as much staff now as we had before, but we have only half as many students,” Waldrop said. “We’re very, very grateful for the [CARES grant], first of all. It definitely makes a dent. It’s a start.”
The grant addressed past and upcoming coronavirus-related changes, such as creating shaded areas and more outdoor seating, plus increased cleaning.
“You wouldn’t believe the amount of bleach and Lysol we use,” Waldrop said.
The finance authority focused on restaurants for a large share of the grants because the industry is shouldering some of the tightest public health restrictions. Only recently has indoor dining been allowed in some counties, albeit at a reduced capacity. About 165 Santa Fe restaurants received grants.
“It’s extremely important to small businesses like ours,” said Minerva Paez, president of the Greater Santa Fe Restaurant Association. “It’s really great because it does not need to be repaid, which is a huge relief for business owners.”
Santa Fe restaurants received between $10,000 and $50,000 in CARES grants, with eight getting the maximum $50,000 and 64 awarded at least $30,000.
“It gives owners some breathing room to hopefully gain some momentum,” Paez said. “People that reopened are having difficult times meeting expenses. Some have already run out of money or are about to run out of money.”
A pair of well-known restaurants in Santa Fe, Tomasita’s and Atrisco Cafe and Bar, have struggled through tough times as well. But owner George Gundrey has collected more than $1 million in state and federal coronavirus-related grants and loans, with $40,000 awarded for Atrisco through the CARES grant.
“I’m very good at figuring out grants,” said Gundrey, who also has a Tomasita’s location in Albuquerque. “I’m applying for every single thing I’m qualified for.”
Atrisco’s revenue was down 60 percent from March to September. The restaurant at DeVargas Center has about 10 to 12 employees now, rather than the usual 45 to 50 employees.
“Every single day we get calls from employees, ‘Please, can I come back to work?’ ” Gundrey said. “I’d rather give the [CARES] money back to the state and be open 50 percent. It’s just a chunk of money that’s helping us stay in business. It’s four weeks’ payroll at Atrisco.”
The situation is not all that different at Cafe Castro, where married couple Pascual D. Hernandez and Alma Castro took over ownership of the business upon the retirement of her parents, Julia and Carlos Castro, in February 2020 — just weeks before indoor and outdoor dining were shut down.
“We started the cafe with $50,000 in the bank,” Alma Castro said. “We were hoping to build a cushion in the summer. Summer was the time to make or break.”
Cafe Castro scaled down from 22 employees to eight, and its hours have been cut. Castro said some employees can be rehired and hours extended with the $30,000 CARES grant she received.
“Without the grant, we’re probably not able to stay open,” Castro said. “This can last us six months, maybe, because of the support of my parents.”
Even outside the restaurant industry, federal dollars make a difference — to a point. People as well as law enforcement agencies are still buying motorcycles, said Pearson of Santa Fe Harley-Davidson, which got the $30,000 shot in the arm. But he also notes he lost the 20 percent of the store’s revenue that’s tied to tourism.
Income was zeroed out for the Las Vegas, N.M., and Red River motorcycle rallies, where Santa Fe Harley-Davidson unloads volumes of gear, clothing and even motorcycles. The dealership also missed out on touring Harley riders from Germany and Japan who stop by for gear and clothing, Pearson said.
Those kinds of events — special gatherings that draw people who might not otherwise come through the door — matter greatly, retailers say.
For example, Artisan art supply stores on Cerrillos Road and in Albuquerque are a rarity in the age of Amazon, with the business reliant on consumer shows at Hilton Santa Fe Buffalo Thunder and a large workshop. All were canceled last year, co-owner Paul Bell said.
A $30,000 grant helped — “That carries our payroll for three weeks,” Bell said — but doesn’t allay all fears, particularly when there’s uncertainty about what gatherings may look like in 2021.
“We had $100,000 from people who had paid for workshops,” Bell said of last year’s event. “We had to refund it all. Half are from out of state. Every time we have an expo, the money from that helps keep the stores going for two years.”
Artisan trimmed its workforce from 29 before COVID-19 at both stores to 22 now. The Albuquerque store lost 85 percent of its revenue in March and April, and the Santa Fe store lost 70 percent, Bell said.
Meanwhile, Maria Johnson received the maximum $50,000 CARES grant for her Santa Fe Selection Travel Guide business that produces small concierge cards for many local businesses that are displayed on racks in hotels. She also produces the Santa Fe Selection Mini-Guide Maps.
“I had to pay for the publishing before getting paid by clients,” Johnson said. “I had done all the printing for 2020 when COVID came. Hotels have wiped clean [emptied] all display racks. They didn’t want to display brochures. That part of my business took the wind out of my sails.”
Johnson still has 2020 maps to put out with no immediate plans for a 2021 map.
The CARES grant money, she said, focuses on the past.
“It enables me to cover a lot of the expenses I already spent in 2020,” Johnson said. “It’s extremely important. I’m very grateful.”