Some business owners are dealing with the hard reality of going out of business during the wait to reopen.
As some businesses are forced to close their doors again because of COVID-19, some business owners are scared they may be next.
Die Hard Pilates has stood on the corner of Chatsworth Boulevard in Point Loma for seven years. NBC 7 was there as Owner Christine Diaz, a single mother, said goodbye.
“It’s a sad feeling to feel like I’m responsible somehow for closing my business,” Diaz said.
But of course, deep down, she knows it’s not her fault. Instead, her business is yet another casualty of the COVID-19 shutdown.
Diaz was unable to keep up with the costs of her business while she waited three months for the OK to reopen.
“I can’t really separate my identity from the event that happened," she said. "It’s a very very painful time."
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Across the street from her, Sia’s Eyebrow Threading has closed down and a couple of doors down, the owner of Aserenity Skin Body fears the same fate.
“It made me really sad that they weren’t able to pull through,” said Anke Stoner, the owner of Aserenity Skin Body. “I’m very fearful if we’re going to be able to survive another shutdown.”
Both Stoner and Diaz said they applied for small business assistance through the federal, county, and city programs. Stoner never heard back and Diaz was denied because of her credit.
Although the Die Hard Pilates building is now up for lease, Diaz said her dreams won’t die with it.
“I chose the word die-hard so they didn’t quit,” she said
NBC 7 reached out to the Small Business Administration. It said it's getting so many applications, that it doesn't have the denial rates for the loans. The latest numbers show it has loaned more than $23 billion in loans to California small business owners through the economic injury disaster loan emergency advance.
NBC 7 Investigates found that the city has only distributed about 27% of its small business relief fund.
