With thousands of businesses in Mississippi – and millions around the world – being forced to temporarily close their doors because of the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, small businesses here in Hattiesburg are having mixed results obtaining government assistance through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a $2 trillion aid package designed to provide direct economic assistance for American workers and small businesses.
Abby Thaxton, who along with her husband Brandon co-owns The Lucky Rabbit on Mobile Street, said despite their early application to the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, she received word late last week that she had been denied because the initial funds for the program had already been depleted.
“So we’re pretty much told by the government right now that we have to shut our business and that we aren’t allowed to be open, and that there is no money to give to us to help us during this time,” she said Friday. “It’s obviously very devastating for Brandon and I – we’ve poured the last eight years of our lives into The Lucky Rabbit.
“We’ve got 80 (vendors) who were denied behind us as well, who are depending on this as extra income, and don’t know when we’ll open again.”
On the bright side, however, as of Friday evening, 100 customers had placed online orders with The Lucky Rabbit, which Abby and Brandon spent the evening filling.
“That’s one hundred people who put in an online order with us to support us, and you don’t know what that means to us,” Abby said. “We have spent all day long packaging up these orders to send to you guys, especially getting the bad news today that we weren’t getting any help.
“We don’t know if any more is coming from the government, but we know we’re not getting any. So just thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts. You keep us going; you guys send us so much praise and love when we work our butts off to bring you these crazy displays that we do.”
For now, Brandon and Abby will continue to add new inventory daily from The Lucky Rabbit and its vendors online at www.theluckyrabbit.com.
“Please keep checking; it’s very easy for us to process orders,” Abby said. “I know a lot of (customers) are used to buying stuff off of Facebook, but we’re not doing Facebook sales because it’s just Brandon and I so we couldn’t keep up, but we can keep up with the online demand on our site.
“We’ll be going live with furniture with curbside pickup, and also lots of vintage glasswear, Pyrex, all that stuff. If you’ll just keep supporting us online, any purchase helps, and it helps keep our vendors going. We’re obviously not alone in being affected, so keep all business owners in your thoughts and prayers, and of course everybody who’s affected by this terrible virus.”
According to Barron’s – which focuses on financial information, market developments and relevant statistics – the SBA cut off PPP applications last week after loan requests topped more than $340 billion in only 13 days.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate approved an additional half-trillion dollar rescue package that included another $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program.
Until those funds are available, it leaves business owners like the Thaxtons and Heath Kleinke, who owns The Shop Downtown, in a precarious situation.
“I haven’t gotten anything, and I’ve filled out three or four different things,” Kleinke said. “I’m (operating with limited hours), but I’m still not making any money. So I don’t have any idea.
“As of now, I haven’t gotten anything except for overdraft fees, and I still owe rent, water and power. I paid rent for my house, but that’s it.”
Rick Taylor, executive director of the Hattiesburg Convention Commission – which runs the Hattiesburg Zoo, the Saenger Theater and several other facilities in Hattiesburg – said the commission’s 76 part-time employees have been furloughed, but the commission was able to keep pay and benefits in place for the remaining 74 full-time workers.
“We looked at the government assistance program, and we went through all of our employees – with a combination of state unemployment and the federal support – and looked at what it would take to feed the animals (at the zoo) and all of that,” he said. “So none of them have them lost any income because of the federal program.
“We furloughed them, which then allows us to take our resources and use them to (continue to employ) animal keepers, animal food, and obviously there’s things like utilities and operating costs to keep our facilities in good shape. So the keepers are obviously a critical part of it, and the last thing we’d ever do is stop feeding and taking care of the animals. Another priority is to preserve the facilities that we operate on behalf of the public – we’re optimistic we’re going to come out of this, and we want these places ready to go and not be allowed to deteriorate.”
Taylor said commission officials are keeping a close eye on other zoos and aquariums around the country, including the Birmingham Zoo, which spends $30,000 a day to feed its animals. Normally, 90 percent of that zoo’s income comes from admission.
“So they’re in a really, really tough spot, and that’s something we’re watching,” Taylor said. “Obviously you’ve got some living creatures you have to take care of, and that was a big part of our decision to go ahead and furlough employees.
“We knew the employees would be okay, and we could apply those holdings, those reserves, towards the things we couldn’t stop doing. So our keepers are looking after all the animals, although we have reduced down some of the hours, so they’ve got some long days.”
