The head of the U.S. Small Business Administration met Thursday (July 18) with about 10 business owners affected by the May 26 storms and tornadoes that damaged buildings and homes in Benton County.
Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman was joined by U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers.
During her Northwest Arkansas visit, Guzman, Womack and area leaders learned how the severe weather impacted the small business owners. They took part in a roundtable discussion at the Rogers Lowell Chamber.
Steve Cox, senior vice president of economic development for the chamber, said 18 businesses in downtown Rogers have been displaced by the storms. He said the total number of businesses impacted by the storms is uncertain until sales tax data is available, which should be available in about two months.
“It’s going to take a long time to get us back to where we were,” Cox said. “We’re going to build back, and we’re going to be better than ever. With your support and the support of the SBA, these businesses will be able to thrive as well.”
Guzman said the SBA, established 70 years ago, offered disaster recovery assistance to businesses before the Federal Emergency Management Agency was created. The SBA provides home and business loans to help with disaster recovery.
“I’ve really focused my work on in disaster in particular to try to make sure that part of all these communities are small businesses that are able to recover quickly,” Guzman said. “I truly mean it when I say, ‘I’m from the federal government, and I’m here to help.’ That’s what we try to do is roll up our sleeves to try to be as inclusive as possible.”
Guzman said she looks to help businesses beyond disaster assistance to include the other SBA help, such as small businesses receiving government contracts from the FEMA money that’s being deployed and SBA’s partners providing assistance to businesses with other challenges that come with trying to survive a disaster.
She also highlighted recent SBA changes that include changes to its disaster loans, which don’t accrue interest for the first 12 months. She said loan limits have been increased, and the time to process a loan has declined from about 100 days to about 12 days, on average. Small loans can be approved within 24 hours.
“This is now a program that better serves survivors so that you can rebuild and recover quickly,” said Guzman, noting the policy changes were made based on conversations with previous disaster survivors.
DAMAGE STORIES
Patrick Stewart, owner of Ozark Axe House in downtown Rogers, said the building in which the business was located is a total loss and will need to be knocked down Terry and Darlene Fleeman own Gathered Goods at Eighth and Walnut streets in Rogers. They were shocked to find that the business’ building was a loss.
“I’m 64 years old now. Lived here all my life,” Terry Fleeman said. “Rogers has never had this much storm damage as long as I’ve been here. … It was devastating.”
Dana Smith, owner of Honeycomb Kitchen Shop on Walnut Street in Rogers, said the kitchen store was damaged, and her home was destroyed by the tornado. She noted about 20% of the store inventory was destroyed, but the teaching kitchen is open. She hopes construction will be completed in August.
Daniel Sanchez, of Mexican food and bakery Tortilleria La Popular on Eighth Street in Rogers, said the storm ripped away its roof, and the rain damaged equipment and food inside. He said his father typically goes to open the business at about 4 a.m. daily and did so after the storms to see the damage the tornado caused.
“That’s probably the first time, when I went in person, that I saw my dad cry,” he said. “Never seen him cry before, so that really hurt. … All the hard work that he’s put in. … It’s very devastating for them, watching them go through it, but we’re a faithful family. And we believe that things happen for a reason, and God has a plan for us and for everyone here as well.”
RENT ISSUES
Owners also discussed the challenges of finding another location to locate their businesses. They noted the high cost of rent for a comparable location.
“It [rent] wasn’t cheap to begin with,” Womack said. “We are fortunate to be in an area with so much economic vitality. There’s a tremendous amount of demand.”
He said 37 people are moving to the area daily, and the population is projected to double by 2050. “So, when you look at the area, it’s not inexpensive. … There’s just not a place available for a lot of the businesses to be able to relocate.”
Guzman said the SBA allows for up to a 20% increase in physical disaster loans to mitigate future disasters. She said the SBA has seen a 20% increase in the use of this program and attributed the rise to climate change, the increased frequency of disasters, and people preparing for the next one.
FEMA INPUT
In another part of her visit, Guzman, Womack, and other leaders learned about the recovery efforts following the storm. Roland Jackson, FEMA’s field coordinating officer, is overseeing the agency’s response in Arkansas. Jackson said FEMA had approved more than $5.72 million in individual assistance as of Thursday, or about $6,800 per approval. Individual assistance comprises grants for temporary housing and home repairs. So far, 4,686 people have registered for assistance in Benton County after the May 26 storms. The next highest number of registrants was in Baxter County, with 413 registrations. Statewide, there have been a total of 5,554 registrations following the May 26 storms.
FEMA has disaster recovery centers at NorthWest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville and at Food Bank of North Central Arkansas in Mountain Home. The centers are open to allow residents to receive help to apply for assistance and upload documents. Residents can also receive help there on Small Business Administration loans. Center hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday.
The deadline to apply for an SBA loan for physical damage caused by the storms is Aug. 28. The deadline to apply for loans covering economic injury that help businesses through the disaster recovery period is March 3, 2025.
Business loans are limited to $2 million, and home loans are limited to $500,000 or $100,000 for personal property. Terms are up to 30 years, and interest rates are fixed, ranging from 2.68% to 8%. Qualified applicants must have credit acceptable to the Small Business Administration and be able to repay the loan.
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