Most businesses are slowing down as the coronavirus settles in. The State of Florida is trying to help with a bridge loan program for small businesses. The first of those loans were awarded to two Tallahassee firms this past Friday.
One of them was Jersey Mike's Subs. The other was Full Press Apparel, where owner Daniel Shrine was calling the program a "lifesaver."
"We have 65 employees so that's dozens of families who are reliant on the income they receive from us and as a company, our success is reliant on the health and well-being of our employees."
But public health officials warn the virus will likely be around for quite a while. So Shrine was urging other businesses to take advantage of the help that's available.
"There is limited funding for this one program. We know more programs are going to be coming on line and we'll be doing everything we can to help our employees through this and keep them employed."
The Florida A&M Small Business Development Center is helping companies with the application process.
