Tennessee store owner ready to reopen doors after being shuttered by COVID-19
Bumblebee Baby & Kids owner Mary Ogle speaks to 'Fox & Friends' ahead of reopening her store.
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A Tennessee small business owner with one employee did not qualify for the Paycheck Protection Program created to help those financially damaged by the coronavirus shutdown.
"Fox & Friends" host Ainsley Earhardt asked Mary Ogle how she felt about publicly traded companies receiving PPP instead of it going to her business.
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“It’s very frustrating,” the owner of Bumblebee Baby & Kids told “Fox & Friends.”
“I, myself, have not been able to qualify for the Paycheck Protection Program. That was something I looked into, but, not every bank is participating and, in particular, the bank that I do business with is not,” Ogle said.
Ogle’s Fayetteville business was opened for just five months before the coronavirus shutdown and she had just hired her first employee.
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“I had some people trying to help me but with me being so new and my eligibility being based on 2019 tax forms — that basically cut me out," she explained. "I was [operative] only two-and-a-half months in 2019 and even in that short time period, with all of the overhead expenses, I did make a small profit — but it wasn’t enough to qualify for the PPP," she said, adding that she is "anxious" to reopen.
Last week, Trump signed the nearly $500 billion “Phase 3.5” coronavirus relief package into law for small businesses and hospitals across the country.
The new legislation will deliver a $310 billion infusion to the PPP, a forgivable loan program that ran out of money amid skyrocketing demand from hurting small businesses.
Tennessee has seen the average daily infection rate remain stable for two weeks following a ramp-up in testing, and it let restaurants reopen Monday at 50 percent capacity in 89 of the state’s 95 counties.
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Retailers are expected to reopen under the same rules, with workers in both industries asked to wear face coverings and follow federal guidelines regarding hygiene under the governor's plan, dubbed the "Tennessee Pledge."
Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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