Cape businesses get post-tornado boost

Jul. 31--SOUTH YARMOUTH -- Small businesses that have struggled to get back on their feet after three tornadoes tore through parts of Cape Cod last week can now qualify for an emergency loan from the state.

"We have been able to identify through Mass Growth Capital a $1 million small business emergency loan fund that will be available to the small businesses on the Cape who need those flexible funds right now," Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said at a press conference Tuesday in South Yarmouth.

Polito, along with Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy, announced the Cape Cod Small Business Emergency Loan Fund during previously scheduled visits to the Cape, including Harwich and Yarmouth, the two towns where the tornadoes touched down.

The fund will allow small businesses affected by the July 23 storms to apply for loans of $5,000 to $50,000, according to a statement from the Baker-Polito administration. Qualifying businesses will have three years to repay the loan. No payments are due for the first 30 days, followed by a five-month period of interest-only payments, the statement says. The annual interest rate for the loans is 3%.

After responding quickly to public safety issues, officials turned their attention to the fact that the tornadoes hit Cape Cod during the height of the tourism season, when many businesses earn the money that supports them throughout the entire year.

"The aftermath really exists relative to the small businesses that remain here and literally need to be open for business," Polito said. "But there are some that are struggling with that piece of it, to become ready and available for the public to come visit them."

Since the storm, Polito has heard from restaurant owners who were forced to toss out all of their food because of power outages and from other business owners who struggled to pay employees when storm damage forced them to close for several days.

Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce CEO Wendy Northcross praised the Baker-Polito administration for acting quickly to address the concerns of the business community.

"This is when the people make the most money, it has to stretch out for the entire year," Northcross said. "We know from prior storms, small businesses don't have interruption insurance, so if they had five days where they lost customers, that could be a really big hit for the bottom line."

Massachusetts Growth Capital Corp. is financing and administering the fund, according to the statement, and will partner with Coastal Community Capital and the Cape chamber to provide outreach and address local needs. The loans may be used for repairs or to help with operating costs, the statement says.

To apply for a loan, business owners should go online to empoweringsmallbusiness.org or contact their state representative for assistance, Polito said.

The Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism also granted $100,000 to the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce to boost public awareness that the Cape is ready to welcome tourists.

"We need to make sure that people know that the Cape is literally open for business," Polito said, "that there are sunny skies and lots of things to do on the Cape, but that this is a region that is safe and open and available."

Northcross said leaders within the business community began requesting the marketing funds soon after the tornadoes hit, and by Friday, she had received a check.

"We had advocated pretty heavily with the Baker administration for the need for some immediate injection of marketing to help offset any people maybe deciding to cancel their vacation or to change their plans," she said.

The chamber, which already has begun a digital marketing campaign, will focus its efforts on promoting the towns that had the most damage.

"We're showing images of Yarmouth and Dennis and Harwich and Chatham," Northcross said. "Those are the communities that have had the biggest impact."

Concerns that the tornadoes would have an adverse effect on Cape tourism have been compounded by the fact that, for many Cape businesses, July revenues were already lagging behind those from the same time period last year, Northcross said.

"August is looking good," she said, "but the constant bad news in the headlines, you have to kind of counter that, and that's what we're trying to counter."

? Follow Kristen Young on Twitter: @KristenCCT.

___

(c)2019 Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.

Visit Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass. at www.capecodtimes.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.