San Diego Got $6 Billion in PPP Loans. Who Got Them?

NBC Universal, Inc.

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.

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:

$6,830,900THE BRIGANTINE RESTAURANT GROUP500
$6,638,674BARTELL HOTELS500
$6,419,800TAYLOR-LISTUG, INC. [Taylor Guitars]454
$5,533,880PROCOPIO, CORY, HARGREAVES & SAVITCH LLP258
$5,427,900URBAN PLATES, LLC204
$4,862,000[TONY] ROBBINS RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL INC.267
$4,713,70022ND DISTRICT AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION [COUNTY FAIR] 213
$4,667,100FRANCIS PARKER SCHOOL287
$4,390,700HOEHN MOTORS INC.284
$4,387,000SAN DIEGO CONVENTION CENTER CORPORATION, INC.484
$4,351,900LA JOLLA COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL223
$4,200,165LA JOLLA BEACH AND TENNIS CLUB PARTNERS, L.P. -   
$3,783,215CASINO PAUMA360
$3,742,600ST PAUL'S EPISCOPAL HOME, INC.399
$3,687,858BURGER LOUNGE OF AMERICA, LLC478
$3,580,700CATHOLIC SECONDARY EDUCATION216
$3,261,100WALTER ANDERSON PLUMBING185
$3,211,587THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION -   
$3,025,000SAN DIEGO ROCK CHURCH330
$2,866,450OLD GLOBE THEATRE148
$2,842,700US GRANT HOTEL SAN DIEGO, LLC280
$2,814,017DEL MAR THOROUGHBRED CLUB322
$2,802,200SANTA FE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS230
$2,719,565ST. VINCENT DE PAUL VILLAGE, INC.288
$2,584,945CALIFORNIA WESTERN SCHOOL OF LAW234
$2,560,800SAN DIEGO BLOOD BANK305
$2,555,000OCEANS ELVEN CASINO343
$2,255,500GOMPERS PREPARATORY ACADEMY160
$2,230,000STEELE CANYON GOLF CLUB375
$2,217,000THE UPPER DECK COMPANY163
$2,215,200MODERN TIMES DRINKS, INC. -   
$2,084,203BELMONT PARK ENTERTAINMENT LLC428
$2,082,042CAL STATE UNIV SAN MARCOS CORPORATION319
$1,976,115THE SUPER DENTISTS, INC.220
$1,906,100INJURED MARINE SEMPER FI FUND164
$1,875,000KING/CHAVEZ ACADEMY OF EXCELLENCE200
$1,863,075PECHANGA RESORTS INCOPORATED262
$1,836,700ALL PRO BAIL BONDS INC124
$1,830,695USS MIDWAY MUSEUM190
$1,779,100BILL HOWE PLUMBING, INC.130
$1,774,600GOLDEN ACORN CASINO AND TRAVEL CENTER207
$1,769,200MATER DEI CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL112
$1,751,300MOSSY AUTOMOTIVE GROUP, INC. -   
$1,707,800BROADWAY TYPEWRITER CO. INC182
$1,625,000SAMMY'S WOODFIRED PIZZA -   
$1,578,000VIETNAM VETERANS OF SAN DIEGO185
$1,543,652KAHOOTS -   
$1,524,900GEORGE'S AT THE COVE, INC -   
$1,524,600LAWRENCE FAMILY JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTERS135
$1,519,400CATHOLIC CHARITIES DIOCESE OF SAN DIEGO144
$1,518,700RANCHO COMMUNITY REFORMED CHURCH267
$1,476,202URBAN CORPS OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY280
$1,460,000HORIZON CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP RANCHO SANTA FE130
$1,458,000LINFIELD CHRISTIAN SCHOOL140
$1,431,800HAY HOUSE, INC.25
$1,361,400THE LEARNING CHOICE ACADEMY106
$1,359,200BETTER BUZZ COFFEE COMPANY253
$1,279,356SAN DIEGO COMIC CONVENTION82
$1,276,900CHRISTIAN UNIFIED SCHOOLS OF SAN DIEGO168
$1,250,000GIRL SCOUTS SAN DIEGO-IMPERIAL COUNCIL I
$1,241,000HELEN WOODWARD ANIMAL CENTER169
$1,224,400ST. AUGUSTINE'S SCHOOL OF SAN DIEGO69
$1,221,800SAN DIEGO SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY202
$1,185,200ACADEMY OF OUR LADY OF PEACE86
$1,158,000SINGING HILLS GOLF RESORT190
$1,120,000POWER BAIL BONDS62
$1,096,850RANDALL LAMB ASSOCIATES, INC.55
$1,062,100J PUBLIC RELATIONS, INC.49
$1,061,112TACOS EL GORDO DE TIJUANA BC INC112
$1,051,800CALIFORNIA PROTON THERAPY CENTER, LLC52
$1,038,300LOCAL MEDIA SAN DIEGO [Z90.3, 91X MAGIC 92.5, 100.7 BIG FM]76
$1,034,365EASTLAKE COMMUNITY CHURCH OF CHULA VISTA122
$1,022,193SAN DIEGO COASTER COMPANY LP [BELMONT PARK AMUSEMENT RIDES]]228
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