'There's Some Disconnect Happening Somewhere': 10 Months Later, Wauconda Brewery Still Waiting On Promised SBA Pandemic Loan

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Struggling to stay afloat two years into the pandemic, small business owners lament they can't get any help from the Small Business Administration.

A suburban brewery owner tells CBS 2's Tara Molina he's been trying since last April to get an emergency loan extension and he's still stuck waiting. She's bringing concerns directly to the SBA and bringing us the story from northwest suburban Wauconda.

The bar is open at Side Lot Brewery, but after months of pandemic-related hits and 10 months waiting on the SBA, getting back on track hasn't been as smooth as they've hoped.

Pouring craft brews in Wauconda since 2015, Phil Castello opened Side Lot Brewing to bring people together over good beer.

"We want to be Main Street's living room here in Wauconda," Castello said.

A community focus driving him to do whatever it takes to keep the beer flowing here after a rough couple years. But he said the Small Business Administration is making that difficult.

"They're very polite when they answer the phone, but they don't have any information to provide to you," Castello said.

They were approved for an emergency disaster loan early in the pandemic, just under $50,000. Then, they got notice they were eligible for a loan increase. They applied for it immediately. That was 10 months ago, April 2021 and still haven't seen a dime.

"It has not been an easy or straightforward process even though we were already approved once before."

He said he's been asked for the same paperwork, already on file, 11 times. but there's no clear explanation as to why. He's tried to get one in person, however...

"They aren't taking appointments due to COVID restrictions."

No help on the phone. No help via email. And more more time to waste. He reached us, saying he's sure they're not alone.
CBS 2 brought all of their concerns and issues directly to the SBA. But a spokesperson responded to those detailed requests with a generic email response, saying in part:

"As of February 3, more than 189,000 Illinois and Wisconsin small businesses and non-profits have received nearly $16 billion in SBA COVID Economic Injury Disaster loans."

That's the loan extension the brewery is waiting on. As for why small business owners can't make appointments for help in their offices?
CBS 2 was told they're directing everyone to phone and email as they follow CDC guidance on reopening when appropriate. His take? The appropriate time is now.

"There is some disconnect happening somewhere. I'm sure we are not the only ones who would like a direct contact or direct person to talk to."

CBS 2 is still waiting on direct responses to our questions from the SBA. The hope is that speaking out makes a difference for them and others stuck waiting.

An SBA spokesperson sent a statement to CBS 2:

While the SBA is unable to comment on an individual borrower's application status, the SBA continues to process COVID EIDL applications received by the Dec. 31, 2021 application deadline as expeditiously as possible, and continues to process COVID EIDL increases, reconsideration, and appeal requests until funding is exhausted.

In regards to COVID EIDL pandemic relief data:

Since March 2020, the SBA has administered more than $71 billion in economic relief to Wisconsin and Illinois small businesses and nonprofits, including the Paycheck Protection Program, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, and other COVID EIDL programs. As of Feb. 3, more than 189,000 Illinois and Wisconsin small businesses and non-profits have received nearly $16 billion in SBA COVID Economic Injury Disaster loans.Nationally, the SBA has overseen the distribution of nearly $314 Billion through the COVID EIDL program. That includes lending ($307.3 Billion), and Targeted and Supplemental Advance programs ($6.5 Billion combined), to over 3.8 Million businesses employing more than 20 million people.

For more information on the COVID EIDL program, visit www.sba.gov/eidl and you can visit COVID-19 EIDL Reports 2022 (sba.gov) for more information on COVID EIDL data.

Between March 2020 and October 2021, the SBA delivered an unprecedented $1.1 trillion in pandemic relief to small businesses and non-profits around the country—that's approximately five times as much funding as was delivered for all previous disasters in the SBA's 68-year history.  

In 2021, the SBA invested in optimized processes and increased capacity to improve the customer service experience for applicants. The SBA accelerated daily processing of loan increases from close to 2,000 applications to more than 37,000 applications daily. Loan officer productivity also went from 1.86 applications per day to 15 applications per day. As a result of these increased loan review rates, the SBA cleared a 600,000+ loan increase backlog, and continues to work around the clock to process increase, reconsideration, and appeal requests.

What's available now:

The SBA continues to offer an array of resources and programs to help small businesses reset and retool during these challenging times. The SBA is committed to a customer-centric approach across all our programs and we are focused on using innovation and collaboration to help strengthen the newly scaled SBA to ensure we can support making our entrepreneurs' dreams a reality.

The SBA will still be supporting established small business owners and startups through our traditional lending portfolio (7a, 504, microloans), and continue to support them in accessing new opportunities, such as climate focused manufacturing, presented in President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and other government resources through our extensive outreach network, including the new Community Navigators program and SBA's traditional resource partners SCORE, the Small Business Development Center network, Women's Business Centers, and Veterans Business Outreach Centers.