Almost 200 local businesses staying open with help of local COVID grants

NEW HANOVER COUNTY (WWAY) — There’s some good news for thousands of workers in the Cape Fear. Millions of dollars in grant money is now headed to the hospitality industry.

The pandemic has hurt businesses across the Cape Fear. Many, like Dance Express, are still trying to get things back to normal. The dance studio shut down for months and lost 40 percent of its dancers.

“We had to stay closed for quite a while and with all the restrictions last year we had to limit our class sizes,” said owner, Danielle Poulos. “Many, many precautions went into effect. So our numbers were definitely down.”

Bars and restaurants like Rosalie’s Trattoria are also feeling the pinch.

“It’s had many impacts,” said the restaurant’s owner, Al Cervini. “Thankfully for the people that came her and supported 100 percent. We’re blessed compared to many others.”

But this week, almost 200 small businesses were awarded COVID-19 relief grants from New Hanover County, ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 based on their number employees.

“It came at a good time, too,” Cervini continued. “Because the season just died right off in a day. And we’re doing a lot of to-go’s again, which is through a delivery app. But that right off the bat is 30 percent profit. So even if we’re doing money, we’re losing money.”

Poulos said her heart stopped when she saw her grant approved.

“Very relieved, very ecstatic,” she said. “Just to help dig us back because we did not want to close our doors. This is our 25th year in business, so we do not want to go anywhere.”

She and Cervini plan to use the money to hire and keep more staff, an issue impacting countless small businesses.

According to Cervini, “The price of people have gone up. Just for even a prep person. A carrot cutter. 16, 18 dollars.”

Cervini said Covid has created an even more competitive market, but this grant should be able to rocket the restaurant into the holidays.

“Yes, yes that will take us right through December,” he said. “And December is the Superbowl for an Italian restaurant, so it’s perfect. It’s like a piece of a puzzle.”

New Hanover County received more than $4 million from the American Rescue Plan Act for these loans. They’re distributing them through the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce.