The French Laundry reportedly received more than $ 2.4 million through the Paycheck Protection Program, while smaller, lesser-known restaurants struggled to get approval at all from the federal program designed to help small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, it was found. from an analysis by ABC7 News.
Eater reported in July that the French laundry was receiving between $ 2 million and $ 5 million in PPP money based on a list made public by the Small Business Administration. However, the list did not state exact loan amounts.
The Michelin-starred restaurant in Yountville received two loans, both approved April 30, according to ABC7, which searched the Small Business Administration’s data. According to the SBA, the first loan was more than $ 2.2 million to keep 163 employees, while the second loan was $ 194,656 to keep five employees. The CARES Act of 2020 created the PPP to “provide small businesses with money to pay for up to 8 weeks of labor costs, including benefits. Funds can also be used to pay interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities.”
The more than $ 2.4 million donated to the French laundry was 17 times what the average Bay Area restaurant received from the PPP, according to ABC7.
This is just the latest example of how most of the PPP funds have gone to larger companies, while smaller mom-and-pop institutions struggled to get federal support at all.
According to a Washington Post analysis of SBA data, national chains have received tens of millions of dollars more from the Paycheck Protection Program than previously known. For example, more than 1,000 Sonic Drive-In restaurants received PPP funds, totaling more than $ 100 million.
This isn’t the first time French Laundry has been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons.
Last month, Califorrnia Governor Gavin Newsom was caught dining there for a birthday party in violation of state guidelines, and just a day later, Mayor of San Francisco London Breed did the same.
While Breed has not technically violated state or city’s coronavirus guidelines, she admitted attending a birthday party at the French Laundry broke “the spirit” of the rules.
SFGATE writers Dianne deGuzman and Eric Ting, and the Washington Post contributed to this report.