Santa Barbara County business owners say emergency funding saved their companies

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The once-in-a-century COVID-19 pandemic caught everyone off guard. The United States was in the longest stretch of growth in our history. And no one was expecting a pandemic to shut businesses down for months.

Salon Patine in Santa Barbara and Island Brewing Company in Carpinteria were planning on future growth heading into 2020. The pandemic hit both companies hard. Both looked for ways to pay to keep as many of their employees as possible.

They filed out applications for federal and state loans and grants. They both received two rounds of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. And they said if it were for that emergency funding they’re not sure if their company would have been able to survive.