A year after Hector Santoni opened Mimo’s Sports Bar in Wauconda, he had to close his business featuring Puerto Rican family recipes and a whiskey burger in March of 2020, because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Since then, Santoni has reopened twice and was forced to close twice because of the ongoing spread of COVID-19. Finding help was hard and, with a large indoor establishment and little room for outdoor dining, he said it was difficult.
He closed for the third time in August
Santoni recently received a call from a friend who owns a similar business in Lake Zurich, telling him about a visit the friend got from Eddie Soto of the Greater Waukegan Development Coalition, who was working on a state grant program for small businesses.
Santoni eventually also received a visit from Soto, a navigator for Illinois’ $250 million Back to Business program, and they talked about ways Mimo’s can get help from the state through the program to reopen and survive the pandemic-imposed downturn. He has new hope.
“Eddie (Soto) has been great,” Santoni said. “He took three hours with me, and helped me apply for help.”
Mimo’s is one of numerous businesses in Lake County and throughout the state seeking assistance to dig out from losses incurred because of the pandemic through the $250 million Back of Business program, which began in August. The deadline to apply is Oct. 13.
Sylvia Garcia, the acting director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, which is overseeing the program, said the state is making a push to help small businesses in disproportionately low-income areas and those hard hit by COVID.
Garcia said $100 million is set aside for those areas. Funds are also reserved for businesses like restaurants ($25 million), hotels ($25 million) and cultural institutions ($30 million) which were severely impacted by the pandemic.
Making sure the program reaches those intended to receive funds, Garcia said 13 hubs were created around the state, like the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce which is responsible for Lake County. The Greater Waukegan Development Coalition is a spoke in that hub.
This month, those organizations began canvassing businesses primarily in Waukegan, North Chicago, Zion and Highwood, which were heavily impacted. Soto said he and others went door to door talking to business owners, letting them know about the program and establishing trust.
“This is an ongoing program,” Soto said. “We’re trying to touch new sources. In the Hispanic community, when one person trusts you they’re going to tell others to trust you. Then you get a call, and they want to know what you’re offering.”
When Soto received the call from Santoni, it was a sign the efforts of going door to door is working.
“This is the result of a strong relationship with the community,” Soto said. “It is building a bridge between their needs, their pain, their goals and the resources that are being made available, such as the Back to Business grant.”
When a business owner needs technical help completing an application, Soto said he will sit with them at a computer and give them the assistance they need. When the conversation begins, there is often skepticism.
“We talk about how the program works,” Soto said. “It may take 15 or 20 minutes before they open up. It’s important to keep eye contact with them while we talk.”
Garcia said the program is specifically geared to small businesses with less than $5 million in annual sales, though hotels qualify for more. Participants submit their 2019 and 2020 tax returns so the state can determine how much money was lost because of the pandemic.
Grants can range from $5,000 to $150,000. Garcia said hotels can receive as much as $250,000. An individual who owns multiple businesses can receive no more than $300,000 overall. Applications are being processed on a rolling basis.
