Earlier this year, in response to catastrophic job losses caused by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting dire need for economic help, the federal government issued more than $500 billion in forgivable PPP loans, a program that was approved by Congress as part of the $2 trillion CARES Act.
The federal government released detailed information this week regarding the program after it was sued by 11 news organizations, NBC News among them. The New York Times called the data "the first full accounting of how federal money was spent through the program."
The Paycheck Protection Program came under fire in the spring when it was discovered that some large corporations had received loans, businesses like the Shake Shack and Nathan's Famous restaurant chains (both of which returned their loans), as well as religious organizations, which, in their defense, employed thousands of teachers.
While the PPP money is technically a loan, "Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) borrowers may be eligible for loan forgiveness if the funds were used for eligible payroll costs, payments on business mortgage interest payments, rent or utilities during either the 8- or 24-week period after disbursement," according to the Small Business Administration.
The data released this week includes specific details on who, exactly, got the money, how much they got, and how many employees were expected to benefit from the loans. It also included locations, making it easy to break down locally.
According to the Small Business Administration, 55,823 San Diego County businesses, schools, nonprofits and religious organizations received $6.1 billion in PPP loans. The vast majority of that amount, $4.4 billion, went to 7,746 local businesses, which all got loans in excess of $125,000.
Local
Here is a complete list of businesses, organizations and groups located in the San Diego area that got a PPP loan from the Small Business Administration of $150,000 or more, up to $10 million. This does not include EIDL money or PPP loans under $150,000:
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 86,070 employers in the county in 2018, the latest year for which figures were available.
Those 55,823 companies employed 534,417 people, according to the SBA data. Since San Diego had about 1.3 million workers in 2018, nearly 2 in 5 were affected by the distribution of the PPP loans in San Diego.
Seven local companies received loans of $10 million, the biggest on offer through the PPP program. Three of those went to restaurant operations: Islands Restaurants, the Cerca Trove Restaurant Group and Rubio's Restaurants, which, notably, filed for bankruptcy in October.
The San Diego County $10 million club is rounded out by the Kleinfelder Group, an engineering consulting and design group; Epsilon Systems, a defense contractor; Hospitality Team Members, an employment services company; and the Wis International corporation, an inventory service for retail establishments.
All of the firms at the top listed themselves as employers of 500 people, with the exception of Hospitality Team Members, which registered as an employer of 442 workers.
Bringing up the rear in San Diego was Bounds Insured, of Fallbrook, which received a loan of just $59.
In between the biggest and smallest loans are a who's who of San Diego, everything from the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club to the Rock Church to the Old Globe theater to George's at the Cove. Here is a list of entities that have brand recognition in San Diego, all of which received loans of $1 million or more:
| $6,830,900 | THE BRIGANTINE RESTAURANT GROUP | 500 |
| $6,638,674 | BARTELL HOTELS | 500 |
| $6,419,800 | TAYLOR-LISTUG, INC. [Taylor Guitars] | 454 |
| $5,533,880 | PROCOPIO, CORY, HARGREAVES & SAVITCH LLP | 258 |
| $5,427,900 | URBAN PLATES, LLC | 204 |
| $4,862,000 | [TONY] ROBBINS RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL INC. | 267 |
| $4,713,700 | 22ND DISTRICT AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION [COUNTY FAIR] | 213 |
| $4,667,100 | FRANCIS PARKER SCHOOL | 287 |
| $4,390,700 | HOEHN MOTORS INC. | 284 |
| $4,387,000 | SAN DIEGO CONVENTION CENTER CORPORATION, INC. | 484 |
| $4,351,900 | LA JOLLA COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL | 223 |
| $4,200,165 | LA JOLLA BEACH AND TENNIS CLUB PARTNERS, L.P. | - |
| $3,783,215 | CASINO PAUMA | 360 |
| $3,742,600 | ST PAUL'S EPISCOPAL HOME, INC. | 399 |
| $3,687,858 | BURGER LOUNGE OF AMERICA, LLC | 478 |
| $3,580,700 | CATHOLIC SECONDARY EDUCATION | 216 |
| $3,261,100 | WALTER ANDERSON PLUMBING | 185 |
| $3,211,587 | THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION | - |
| $3,025,000 | SAN DIEGO ROCK CHURCH | 330 |
| $2,866,450 | OLD GLOBE THEATRE | 148 |
| $2,842,700 | US GRANT HOTEL SAN DIEGO, LLC | 280 |
| $2,814,017 | DEL MAR THOROUGHBRED CLUB | 322 |
| $2,802,200 | SANTA FE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS | 230 |
| $2,719,565 | ST. VINCENT DE PAUL VILLAGE, INC. | 288 |
| $2,584,945 | CALIFORNIA WESTERN SCHOOL OF LAW | 234 |
| $2,560,800 | SAN DIEGO BLOOD BANK | 305 |
| $2,555,000 | OCEANS ELVEN CASINO | 343 |
| $2,255,500 | GOMPERS PREPARATORY ACADEMY | 160 |
| $2,230,000 | STEELE CANYON GOLF CLUB | 375 |
| $2,217,000 | THE UPPER DECK COMPANY | 163 |
| $2,215,200 | MODERN TIMES DRINKS, INC. | - |
| $2,084,203 | BELMONT PARK ENTERTAINMENT LLC | 428 |
| $2,082,042 | CAL STATE UNIV SAN MARCOS CORPORATION | 319 |
| $1,976,115 | THE SUPER DENTISTS, INC. | 220 |
| $1,906,100 | INJURED MARINE SEMPER FI FUND | 164 |
| $1,875,000 | KING/CHAVEZ ACADEMY OF EXCELLENCE | 200 |
| $1,863,075 | PECHANGA RESORTS INCOPORATED | 262 |
| $1,836,700 | ALL PRO BAIL BONDS INC | 124 |
| $1,830,695 | USS MIDWAY MUSEUM | 190 |
| $1,779,100 | BILL HOWE PLUMBING, INC. | 130 |
| $1,774,600 | GOLDEN ACORN CASINO AND TRAVEL CENTER | 207 |
| $1,769,200 | MATER DEI CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL | 112 |
| $1,751,300 | MOSSY AUTOMOTIVE GROUP, INC. | - |
| $1,707,800 | BROADWAY TYPEWRITER CO. INC | 182 |
| $1,625,000 | SAMMY'S WOODFIRED PIZZA | - |
| $1,578,000 | VIETNAM VETERANS OF SAN DIEGO | 185 |
| $1,543,652 | KAHOOTS | - |
| $1,524,900 | GEORGE'S AT THE COVE, INC | - |
| $1,524,600 | LAWRENCE FAMILY JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTERS | 135 |
| $1,519,400 | CATHOLIC CHARITIES DIOCESE OF SAN DIEGO | 144 |
| $1,518,700 | RANCHO COMMUNITY REFORMED CHURCH | 267 |
| $1,476,202 | URBAN CORPS OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY | 280 |
| $1,460,000 | HORIZON CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP RANCHO SANTA FE | 130 |
| $1,458,000 | LINFIELD CHRISTIAN SCHOOL | 140 |
| $1,431,800 | HAY HOUSE, INC. | 25 |
| $1,361,400 | THE LEARNING CHOICE ACADEMY | 106 |
| $1,359,200 | BETTER BUZZ COFFEE COMPANY | 253 |
| $1,279,356 | SAN DIEGO COMIC CONVENTION | 82 |
| $1,276,900 | CHRISTIAN UNIFIED SCHOOLS OF SAN DIEGO | 168 |
| $1,250,000 | GIRL SCOUTS SAN DIEGO-IMPERIAL COUNCIL I | |
| $1,241,000 | HELEN WOODWARD ANIMAL CENTER | 169 |
| $1,224,400 | ST. AUGUSTINE'S SCHOOL OF SAN DIEGO | 69 |
| $1,221,800 | SAN DIEGO SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY | 202 |
| $1,185,200 | ACADEMY OF OUR LADY OF PEACE | 86 |
| $1,158,000 | SINGING HILLS GOLF RESORT | 190 |
| $1,120,000 | POWER BAIL BONDS | 62 |
| $1,096,850 | RANDALL LAMB ASSOCIATES, INC. | 55 |
| $1,062,100 | J PUBLIC RELATIONS, INC. | 49 |
| $1,061,112 | TACOS EL GORDO DE TIJUANA BC INC | 112 |
| $1,051,800 | CALIFORNIA PROTON THERAPY CENTER, LLC | 52 |
| $1,038,300 | LOCAL MEDIA SAN DIEGO [Z90.3, 91X MAGIC 92.5, 100.7 BIG FM] | 76 |
| $1,034,365 | EASTLAKE COMMUNITY CHURCH OF CHULA VISTA | 122 |
| $1,022,193 | SAN DIEGO COASTER COMPANY LP [BELMONT PARK AMUSEMENT RIDES]] | 228 |
