![]() ![]() The federal government's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which authorized up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses to pay their employees during the COVID-19 crisis, has dried up. We're done.' Then they started talking about these programs to help small businesses and it gave me some hope."Īs of April 17, the Hesses had not received any funding from the three programs they applied for. "I'm a serial pessimist," Laurel Hess said, grinning. I thought, as a country, we're not ready for anything like this." "I remember going through the Swine Flu (April 2009 through August 2010), which caused a little bit of a slowdown for businesses. The sole income for the Hess family, which includes two college-aged sons, David and Steve, had dried up - and there is no oasis in sight.Įric Hess said he felt "a pang of fear" in February, when it was reported that the coronavirus was spreading across the globe. "Realistically, it didn't matter if we were open or closed it was fear (of the virus), not the executive order, that kept people away," Eric Hess said. Gretchen Whitmer's stay home executive order to help contain the spread of coronavirus. ![]() Two days later, Jungle Java was ordered to temporarily shutter its doors by Gov. More: You'll find these Canton restaurants open for carryout during the coronavirus pandemic More: Century-old 'Haggerty House' in Canton cloaked in compelling mystery "We only charged her for the food that we purchased for the party and told her to come back once everything has passed over and we can have another party for her daughter." "I told the mother that there was no way we were going to let her pay the entire bill of $500," Laurel Hess said. Ultimately, the only attendees were the 3-year-old birthday girl and members of her family. The parents of a 3-year-old girl said they had talked to most of the people who had been invited - 20 kids and their families -and as of Saturday morning, most of them were still planning to attend. "But one by one, they started calling and canceling the parties," Laurel Hess lamented.Īll but one of the parties was canceled. The Hesses had secured reservations for 15 birthday parties for the ensuing weekend, a booster shot of roughly $15,000 or more for the business. "We had a feeling then that this was going to get bad." "That was the day the NBA suspended play, Tom Hanks announced he and his wife had been infected," Eric Hess said. Then came March 11, the day ominous clouds started forming over most small businesses in the United States. No school that Tuesday translated into a steady stream of customers, explained the Hesses, who have been outright owners since 2010. "It was so unique during the first few years that people would drive up from Toledo or all the way over from Grosse Pointe to visit Jungle Java," Eric Hess said.Īs recently as March 10 - Presidential primary election day in Michigan - business was booming at Jungle Java. Cheese," explained Laurel Hess, who owns the small business with husband Eric. "It's kind of like Starbucks meets Chuck E. Stocked with a giant jungle-themed maze of tunnels and slides toward the back of the 6,700-square-foot business, play space for its youngest guests and spacious seating areas for parents and grandparents sipping java while the kids played, the place was a magnet for young families in the fast-growing community. ![]() Since it first opened in 2003, Jungle Java has been one of the happiest, endorphin-producing spaces in Canton Township. ![]()
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