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Berlin businesses share PPP loan experience

By Morgan Pilz, Staff Writer

(May 14, 2020) As the federal government continued its Payroll Protection Program loans from the Small Business Administration, Berlin businesses joined many others in the area seeking to keep their doors open and employees working.

The SBA will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used primarily for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities. Loan payments will also be deferred for six months.

For some members of the Berlin community, obtaining the loan was quick and easy with the right help, in the case of Michelle “Shelley” Bruder, owner of Bruder Home & Bruder Hill.

Michelle Bruder

“I was one of the ones in the first round to receive it in mid-April,” Bruder said. “I was very blessed because I have a woman that I worked with very closely — she’s now at Providence State Bank in Salisbury — and she was on it right away. Getting all the paperwork together was kind of annoying, but it was good for me … it gave me an opportunity to get all the paperwork together and be more organized.”

Bruder, who has two full-time employees including herself plus three part-time employees, believes the process has helped her learn more about her business. Especially since Berlin is so reliant on small businesses to survive.

“Right now, with most of the small business community being closed or not being able to have any kind of revenue coming in, small businesses are the backbone of all communities,” she said. “And if we lose small businesses, then we’re going to be it’s not going to be good. Any kind of help we can get from anyone is wonderful.”

While Bruder was able to receive a loan fairly quickly, others had a difficult time obtaining one. For Robin Tomaselli, owner of Baked Dessert Café, she might has well have decoded

a foreign language.

“I found the application to be so confusing because I am not an attorney or an accountant,” Tomaselli said. “However, I am so grateful to Taylor Bank who has been super helpful during this process.”

Tomaselli, who has just recently reopened her café on Fridays and Saturdays and will be offering baked goods at the farmers market on Sundays, knows that every dollar counts, especially with the threat of losing summer income.

“This [pandemic] has been a huge blow to us small businesses who count on festivals and other events,” she said. “Everyone knows around here that the summer is where we receive most of our income.”

Tomaselli also went on to explain that in order to survive in the winter, she had to depend on the income she took inb from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend. Having been approved for her loan recently, she is hoping it will be enough to hold out during the pandemic.

“I’m so relieved to get something,” she said. “I hope it’s enough to get through the months ahead until everything is normal again.”

Some business owners have even more on their plates, especially when they own more than one business, like Bryan Brushmiller, who owns Burley Oak Brewing Co. and Viking Tree Trading Co.

Brushmiller, who is also in the process of renovating The Globe (and is expecting it to reopen and offer delivery by June 1), had to apply for a loan for each business separately. He has received a loan for each company very recently.

Bryan Brushmiller

Brushmiller felt that the process to apply was pretty typical, if not tedious as the application process changed multiple times in the past month.

“I think the process is just typical process of filling out all the applications, you just had to stay on top of it,” he said. “[However,] I think it’s important to have seen a small business sector be propped up by these funds.”

Between both of his businesses, Brushmiller had previously employed 18 people, and had to lay off four people, but is already in the process of hiring them back now that he has secured his loans.

Despite the difficulties caused by the virus, following the closure of so many small and local businesses, Brushmiller has faith that Berlin and the surrounding area will survive the pandemic.

“We’re pretty resilient people,” he said. “We’ve dealt with  nor’easters and hurricanes. This isn’t the first time the town has shut down and, you know, kind of in a positive light. We’ve practiced for it.

“I think the typical small business owners are pretty resilient,” Brushmiller continued. “And I’d say I can speak for all of us when I would say that we’re all fighters. That’s just kind of the nature of being an entrepreneur and just the nature of small business … you always have to adapt and overcome.”