ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Owners of the local Rock Island business, Richard and Katherine Lopez, said on a typical day they could seat nearly a hundred customers. Today, they only serve an average of fifteen.
"It’s really hard to have a fraction of you income coming in but all of your outgoing bills and everything - they don’t change," said Richard. "And that's why we need the extra help."
He said he heard Governor J.B. Pritzker's announcement to help small businesses and decided to apply for the state's Hospitality Emergency Grant Program. The $14M grant program offers up to $25,000 to eligible bars and restaurants to help small businesses make ends meet.
"Well we got the answer back saying that we did not win the lottery," said Richard.
According to the program, more than 12,000 valid entries were submitted and only 700 businesses were chosen through a lottery system.
"If we don’t get some financial help we’re going to have to close," said Richard.
But Paul Rumler, the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, says there are still other options for businesses that were not chosen.
"There are low interest loans available through the SBA. There are city grants. Particularly in Igor’s case, in the city of Rock Island they have an emergency grant fund available to Rock Island businesses with a max of ten employees," said Rumler. "So I’d say restaurants like Igor’s would do well to contact their city to explore what that option is."
Rumler said the Chamber is available to serve any business during the outbreak.
"We want to make sure we’re pointing them to the right resources," Rumler said. "We’ll get through this. We don’t know what it’ll look like and how quickly we’ll get through it but I know that everyone in this community is pulling together."
Igor's Bistro is currently open three days a week and is offering drive-thru service and delivery.