更多的餐厅连锁店正在返回其PPP贷款[更新]

更新，2020年4月24日：After mounting backlash from the public that has placed increased scrutiny on which businesses were approved for the government’s Paycheck Protection Program loans, both Sweetgreen and Kura Sushi have made the decision to return the money they were allotted by the CARES Act so that it may be distributed to small businesses that need it.

根据华盛顿邮报，库拉寿司（Kura Sushi）拥有24个美国地点（日本451个地点），获得了598万美元的联邦小企业贷款批准。However, the chain’s CEO, Jimmy Uba, echoed the sentiments of Shake Shack CEO Randy Garutti, saying that his company had naturally assumed that the money would go where it was most needed, and it wasn’t clear that the PPP’s funding would run out so quickly. As Uba explained in a filing with the SEC:

“This was a difficult decision because our employees are extremely important to us, but it’s impossible to ignore the fact that our finances allow us to weather financial hardship for a longer period than independent restaurant owners.... We hope that these funds will be shared equitably among deserving candidates.”

同时，Sweetgreen是一条快速的休闲沙拉连锁店，拥有75个地点和3500多名员工，被批准获得1000万美元的贷款，但根据邮政，该公司此后立即得知PPP的资金已经用尽。“知道这一点，我们很快就决定退还贷款，” Sweetgreen的创始人在一本Instagram帖子。

原始帖子，2020年4月20日：由于COVID-19的限制继续使餐饮业置于障碍之中，这些业务不仅需要社区中客户的支持，而且还需要（甚至最重要的是）联邦政府的协助。几周前，国会通过了《关怀法案》救济法案，其中PPP或薪水保护计划在其中承诺向小型企业提供3490亿美元的原谅贷款，以在大流行期间向其雇员付款。

However, the question of what constitutes a “small businesses” has been raised in recent weeks as large chunks of that relief package money were funneled to chain restaurants such as Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Potbelly, and J. Alexander’s while independent restauranteurs were reportedly left waiting for any assistance at all as the government works to approve more money for relief.

不过，现在，面对政府监管机构团体的强烈反对，Shake Shack（通过PPP获得了1000万美元的贷款）退还贷款。在打开信封Shake Shack首席执行官Randy Garutti于周一出版，他解释说，每个位置不到500名员工的餐厅都有资格申请贷款，每个Shake Shack的位置都有大约45个餐厅，使他们在极限范围内申请。但是，Garutti继续：

上周晚些时候，当宣布为PPP的资金耗尽时，全国各地的企业都陷入困境。如果该法案是为小型企业编写的，那么这么多独立的餐厅的员工需要提供很多帮助就无法获得资金？我们现在知道，PPP的第一阶段资金不足，许多人最需要它的人没有得到任何帮助。

因此，Shake Shack将全额退还贷款，“这样需要它的那些最需要的餐厅可以得到。”加鲁蒂（Garutti）的信继续了一系列建议，即政府如何最好地分配下一轮PPP资金（可能很快就会批准另外3100亿美元的资金）。至于Shake Shack将如何弥补差异，CNN业务笔记“该公司在周五的一份文件中表示，预计通过出售股票将能够从投资者那里筹集高达7500万美元。”

许多人鼓掌这一举动，这可能有助于阐明PPP的缺点，并使这些贷款对申请人的混乱降低。希望将来的一轮资金将首先在需要它生存的本地企业中分配。