LISC LA Is A Proud PPP Lender: Small Businesses Stay Open and Keep the Region Fed

5.07.2020 — LISC StoriesEconomic Development

As American cities have introduced stay-at-home orders in response to the current pandemic, small businesses have been forced to close their storefronts to the public. With many businesses now struggling to stay open, the US government has released $350 Billion in Paycheck Protection Program loans for small businesses, calling on banks and lenders to administer the loans. LISC LA and some of our long-standing partners are currently working to ensure small businesses get the funds they need.

In California alone, $33.4 Billion in loans are being administered with eligibility for full loan forgiveness. The only requirement being that these loans go to certain expenses with 75% required to go to payroll costs for employees. The aim of this loan is to help small businesses retain their staff and keep them on payroll in this challenging, unprecedented time.

LISC LA has always been a proud supporter of small, diverse businesses, and we are working hard alongside our subsidiary lender, immito, to get small businesses the loans they need. We are proud to see these funds going to work for local, small businesses, and to see our loan recipients paying it forward through efforts to support their communities.

As Small Business Week started on May 4th, we would like to highlight some of the recipients of these loans doing wonderful work.

Amped Kitchens

Amped Kitchens is an operator of multi-tenant food production facilities in Los Angeles, breaking down the barriers to entry for food businesses. Their offering of permit-ready, pre-inspected, commercial kitchen spaces helps small food manufacturers scale production faster and with lower cost and risk. This is not LISC LA’s first time working with Amped Kitchens. In 2017 LISC LA provided a loan for their second Los Angeles location, as they have continued to expand their innovative model with support from backers like LISC LA.

We applied in round one and round two through other banks but didn’t get the support we needed. LISC jumped in and was truly amazing . . . Even more importantly, Emma and the LISC team have gotten PPP loan approvals for numerous of our small business tenants – a crucial lifeline in these tough times. We’re so grateful to LISC for once again really coming through.

— Mott Smith, Co-Founder of Amped Kitchens

In the current atmosphere, Amped Kitchens serves as an essential business while providing food facilities, and have adapted their offerings for tenants. Even as their first Chicago location opens June 1st with LISC support, they are offering rent free for two months with a one-year lease thereafter. As Amped Kitchens adapts their services to keep food production sustainable, their tenants are also following their lead. Everytable, an Amped Kitchens tenant, is helping provide free meals for seniors in Los Angeles, and Amped Kitchens is taking on a new role as the ground space for this city program.

Cena Vegan

LISC LA is also working to provide loans to and build new relationships with tenants of Amped Kitchens, one of them being Cena Vegan. The majority Latino-owned business serves plant-based mexican food that is “delicious, healthy, and affordable” as pop-up vendors at large scale events. When the stay at home order was given, in just four days, Cena Vegan completely revamped their business, adding pick-up and delivery options. But despite doing everything to adapt, they were still facing difficult decisions.

The loan is more than money. It gives the owners and our employees a sense of security. We can keep doing what we are doing with our full staff. We don’t have to make difficult HR decisions and our staff knows they have a paycheck. Our people work so hard to help us succeed. This is the biggest part of the loan for us.

— Gary Huerta, Cena Vegan Partner

Cena Vegan puts their employees as a top priority, and the award of a PPP loan means they will be able to keep their team employed. Cena Vegan is also stepping up by actively working with Support and Feed to turn donations into meals for first responders and those actively working in the fight against COVID-19, something partner Gary Huerta calls “a no brainer.”

LISC LA has been working hard to get SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to small businesses. So far we have already awarded more than $200,000 to organizations such as Amped Kitchens and to Cena Vegan, as they work to keep our region fed and working in this challenging time. We will continue to work with diverse women owned small businesses to support them with the SBA PPP financing as they continue to support our communities.