BROWNSVILLE (CBS 4) — La incertidumbre de una pandemia ha dejado muchas pequeñas empresas en el valle en el borde y muchas ya están sintiendo el impacto.
“We’re going to lead into our first year, maybe not open,” Michael Limas, owner of La Ramblas at Market Square explained as he showed us around his business. For the last 10 months, Limas has run Las Ramblas – a bar located between East 11th Street and Washington in the Downtown district in Brownsville. His establishment is located in an area that’s normally bustling with people. However, with the social distancing recommendations, it’s not like that now. The bar is closing until the end of the month.
"Obviamente, dependemos de las ventas. Sin las ventas que vienen, todavía tenemos una tremenda cantidad de gastos para mantener la operación en funcionamiento ", agregó Limas. "Podemos estar cerrados por otras seis semanas. No queremos que eso suceda. Al final del día, la salud de la comunidad y nuestro personal es lo que es primordial ". Justo en la calle se encuentra Main Street Deli, un restaurante que continúa funcionando de forma normal.
“We’re seeing less people on the street and even less coming here to eat,” said Hector Zavala, owner of the restaurant in Spanish as helped with orders from customers coming in. While many businesses may be facing similar challenges there are resources to help these businesses survive. “SBA disaster loans which are also very low interests loans. Which is provided to businesses to sustain themselves during these months,” explained Nathan Burkhart, Director of Marketing & Small Business Development for the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation.
Dice que esos préstamos pueden ser de hasta $ 2 millones, pero esa no es la única ayuda disponible. También hay asistencia de desempleo de desastres y programas de subvención, entre otros.
Para obtener una lista completa de los recursos y más información, visite www.assist.brownsvilleedc.org.
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