Less Than Nine Percent of Oregon’s Paycheck Protection Program Funding Went to Restaurants

Many of Oregon’s Paycheck Protection Program Loans Went to Large-Scale Companies

The Oregonian published a breakdown of the Paycheck Protection Program’s statewide monetary distribution, and those hoping most of the loans went to small, independently owned restaurants are going to be disappointed. More than a third of the state’s funds went to less than 2 percent of recipients; those larger companies generally took home $1 million to $10 million dollar loans. Restaurants — a demographic dramatically impacted by the pandemic financially — received less than nine percent of that money: According to the Oregonian, hotels and restaurants received 8.8 percent of the total funding. However, some of the largest loans distributed did go to hotels and restaurants: McMenamins and Shari’s received $10 million each, while Old Spaghetti Factory received just over $9 million. All in all, the program distributed an average of $106,692.11 loans to 66,100 Oregon businesses. [O]

Dan & Louis Oyster Bar Launches a GoFundMe to Try to Stay Alive

Some of Portland’s oldest restaurants are at serious risk of shutting down forever. Days after the team behind Huber’s went public with their grim prospects, another westside restaurant — Dan & Louis Oyster Bar — published a GoFundMe to try to save the restaurant from the financially devastating effects of the pandemic. The restaurant has been open since 1907, but its location downtown and its popularity with tourists has hit the restaurant hard. “We have seen two world wars, the Great Depression, two major floods, the Korean War, and Vietnam, but Covid-19 is what might actually close our business forever,” the GoFundMe description reads. “Now as we go into winter after another two week closure, with new guidelines from the governor of only takeout and outdoor dining, in a downtown with almost no people (covid closures), in a city that rains most days and is only 40 degrees, and just a small amount of borrowed money left, we worry that we will not make through this winter.” The restaurant is trying to raise $200,000; so far, the restaurant has raised a little more than $6,000 since it launched on Wednesday. [PBJ]

In Other News...

• Portland Monthly ranked the city’s best burgers, with a team of judges including Simpsons-writer-slash-fast-food-influencer Bill Oakley and influencer-slash-podcast-host Gary Okazaki. Expatriate’s American Standard came out on top. [PoMo]
• Hop Valley Brewing is going to start a North American expansion in 2021. [O]
• Tonari is back after a brief hiatus, with a takeout brunch featuring Russian sour cream honey cake. [PoMo]