"Curtis Howard is frustrated. The Avenue, the Halloween themed neighborhood melting pot which he co-owns with his wife, Tana, in Temescal, has been closed for two months. Not only has he been unable to land a loan, he can’t even find out whether he’s been denied. Howard applied for his first Small Business Administration (SBA) loan on March 18. Since then, he’s applied for more than 12 additional loans, including multiple Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and an Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). The only line of credit that he’s been approved for came with a 14 percent finance rate tacked onto it, which he refused, because he said it would be comparable to buying the bar all over again." - Shane Downing
