Hartford Business Journal

13 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MAY 17, 2021 for us." Making adjustments TD Bank — the tenth largest lender of Paycheck Protection Program funding in the country — helped approve 129,000 PPP loans totaling $12 billion between both rounds of the program. That included more than 86,000 loans in the program's first six weeks, 28 times the average 3,000 small business loans the bank would approve in a typical year, said Steve Webb, TD Bank's regional president for southern New England and upstate New York. Webb says he credits TD Bank's high-touch model and technology for attracting so many small business clients. "We had relationship managers checking frequently with clients, asking what we could do and providing a sounding board, maybe listening about a new business plan," Webb said. "With the pandemic, we knew many of our restaurants had to change their operating model." TD Bank, he says, helped with that, too. For instance, he said TD Bank helped many restaurants set up online payment systems in a timely fashion. Like many restaurateurs, Kohn made multiple adjustments to his businesses. He set up outdoor dining in the parking lot at Rockledge Grille, housed on the grounds of Rockledge Country Club; redesigned the inside of Beachland Smoke; and partnered with Chow Now, a subscription-based food ordering app, which Kohn says has helped his restaurants stay in touch with customers and provides a convenient way for them to order food for delivery. Dolch said he's been most impressed with restaurant owners' fighting spirit throughout the pandemic. "They are not willing to just give up," he said. "They are going to dig in and find creative ways to make [their business] work." That's particularly important in Connecticut where the vast majority of restaurants — 70% or more, Dolch estimates — are independent franchises or mom-and-pop-style enterprises. "Unlike some states, where many restaurants are corporate-owned national chains, in Connecticut, most of our owners are people you know in our community, they're our neighbors," Dolch said. While many restaurants have been bleeding resources just to survive, Dolch's association helped distribute $500,000 in private funding from DoorDash as $5,000 grants to nearly 100 restaurants statewide, including to Kohn. "Every little bit helps," Dolch said. "It can help to keep the doors open, pay rent or help with staffing." Latest lifeline Dolch said he is more encouraged Same great degree delivered in four different formats. FULL-TIME PART-TIME EXECUTIVE NEW! ONLINE Or try one of our Specialized Master's degree programs: Accounting (Online) Business Analytics & Project Management Financial Risk Management Human Resource Management grad.business.uconn.edu Steve Webb An outside view of the Rockledge Grille at Rock- ledge Golf Course in West Hartford. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED by the recently launched Restaurant Revitalization Fund, an SBA program with $28.6 billion earmarked specifically for emergency assistance to restaurants, bars, bakeries, food trucks and similar entities. Funds were made available in early May to a wide range of food- and drink-serving businesses, including restaurants, coffee shops, food trucks and breweries. And instead of working through a lender, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund offers grants directly from the Small Business Administration. Recipients are not required to repay the funding as long as they are used for eligible expenses. For Kohn, the past year has taught him there's a thin line, he says, from being successful and being out of business. He's cautiously optimistic, as the days get longer and warmer, Connecticut's vaccination levels rise, and he sees customers return in person that he hasn't seen in a year. But challenges remain, including rising food supply costs and loan payments he never imagined needing last February. He said he knows recovery will likely be slow and it may take years to gain back his pre-pandemic bottom line. But, like thousands of restaurants across Connecticut and the country, he plans to keep pushing forward.

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