Office of Economic and Workforce Development Issues Emergency Grants to Seven Businesses Impacted by the Fire in Chinatown

Chinatown Fire

Funds to Provide Emergency Capital for Merchants & Employees to Resume Operations

San Francisco, CA—The Office of Economic and Workforce Development today issued emergency grants to seven businesses that suffered a fire in Chinatown on February 3rd. The grants are part of the Small Business Disaster Relief Fund that was activated in response to a two-alarm fire in Chinatown where 22 employees were impacted. A total of $70,000 is being disbursed to impacted businesses to help with inventory replacement, equipment purchases, security deposits for a new lease, employee salaries, or other expenses to stabilize cash flow.

 “In the aftermath of the fire in Chinatown, Mayor Lee directed the Office of Economic and Workforce Development to activate the Small Business Disaster Relief Fund to immediately assist small businesses in their time of need,” said Todd Rufo, director of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development. “The funds will help all seven small businesses and their employees in the next steps toward their recovery.”

Seven businesses located at 1199 Stockton were displaced from the fire. With the help from community partners, the Small Business Development Center and the Mission Economic Development Agency, the following businesses applied and received up to $10,000 each to support employees and pay vendors.

  • SF Poultry #2
  • Tan Store
  • Kwong Cheong Tai
  • Tan Tan Trading Company
  • Bay Area Holiday
  • Chong Hing Company
  • Pacific Street Fish Market

“On behalf of Tan Tan Trading Co, I would like to extend my utmost thank to Mayor Lee and his staff for the care and help they have been providing to us since the fire incident. The $10,000 Disaster Relief Fund is helpful to us in paying our staff wages and other immediate needs. We will reserve the rest of the fund for our reopening and hope that it will not take too long,” said owner Kevin Situ.

从火灾以来,首先天天集团
萬份感謝! 三藩市 市长(同市长办公室工作入员热情关怀)帮助我們小商业援助一萬元,当前之急以需要,工入出粮余有也盼望旱曰重建店里新开业。

 多謝 !  Kevin Situ

“February 3rd was a black Friday! The 14-years of hard work I have devoted to my business was entirely burned down by a fire. I felt so helpless, hopeless and frustrated. Fortunately, with the warm concern and support from Mayor Lee and various departments of the City Government, we have received sincere help during our hard times. I would like to particularly thank Lawrence Liu, business advisor with San Francisco Small Business Development Center. He is so caring and helpful. Again, thank you everybody in the City Government for your concern and assistance. Thank you,” said Jason Li, owner of  Kwong Cheong Tai. “After receiving the Disaster Relief Fund, I will first pay off the wages we owe our employees so as to stabilize their income and reduce the impact brought by the incident. Indeed, my employees are also very grateful to Mayor Lee and the various departments for their concern and support in re-building our business. I will use the rest of the fund towards re-establishing my company, Kwong Cheong Tai. I really hope that we can re-open soon. My sincere thank goes to all of you who have lent us your helping hands over the last few weeks.”

2月3日2017年 是一個黑色的星期五 一場大火 燒毀了苦心經營十四年的心血 出現了無奈 失望和挫敗 今天 在市長和市政府的熱情關心和支持下 我們得到懇切的幫助!我表示多謝市長和三藩市政府 特別衷心多謝小企業發展中心顧問:Lawrence Liu 貼心的服務 熱情的支持 多謝政府各部門關心和照顧 多謝

收到救災錢後 我們第一時間會出糧給公司所有員工 让他們減少火災對他們帶來的痛苦 穩定所有員工的生活。讓他們也感謝市長和市政府各部門對火災的關心和重建公司的支持 有了這筆救災資金 我可以开動重建广昌泰的行動 希望很快就能重新開業。衷心感謝大家對我們的支持和幫助。

Jason Li

The Small Business Disaster Relief Fund is part of a comprehensive assistance package which include resources and services aimed at helping small businesses and their employees recover as quickly as possible. The immediate weeks after a disaster is critical for a business to determine whether it can resume operations in San Francisco.  While many businesses may receive insurance proceeds or have the ability to access a traditional or disaster loan, the delay in receiving these funds can take months. OEWD also provided other services to the affected employees and businesses such as job search assistance, access to unemployment information, help obtaining small business loans, guidance concerning licenses and permits, and other services.

The Fund is led by the Office of Economic and Workforce Development in partnership with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA). It was created shortly after a fire on 22nd and Mission where businesses were dislocated and did not have access to capital to assist with immediate needs. For more information on the fund, please visit: oewd.org/disaster-relief

About the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD)
The Office of Economic and Workforce Development's (OEWD) mission is simple – we support the ongoing economic vitality of San Francisco. Under the direction of Mayor Edwin M. Lee, OEWD provides city-wide leadership for workforce development, business attraction and retention, neighborhood commercial revitalization, international business and development planning. For more information, go to: www.oewd.org

 

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PDF icon 3.16.17 OEWD issues emergency grants to Chinatown businesses impacted by fire.pdf

 

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