Shake Shack
Shake Shack, the national restaurant chain with a location here in Southlake, announced on April 19 they would be returning the $10 million loan they received from the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.
“Shake Shack, like all restaurant businesses in America, is doing the best we can to navigate these challenging times,” Shake Shack CEO Randy Garutti says in a letter announcing the decision. “We don’t know what the future holds. Our people would benefit from a $10 million PPP loan, but we’re fortunate to now have access to capital that others do not. Until every restaurant that needs it has had the same opportunity to receive assistance, we’re returning ours.”
Along with announcing the return of their PPP loan, Garutti is urging Congress to fund the program adequately, assign to each applying restaurant a local bank that will be responsible for executing the loan and eliminate the arbitrary June forgiveness date for PPP loans.
“If this health crisis and the associated economic shock has taught us anything, it is that we are all in this together,” Garutti says. “Restaurants and their employees are craving the moment when we can safely be back in business and bring our guests back to the table. With adequate funding and some necessary tweaks, the PPP program can provide the economic spark the entire industry needs to get back in business.”