'It was very difficult the first time to get access to the PPP loan': Restauranteur

Restaurateur & Real Estate Develope of Adenah Bayoh and Companies, Adenah Bayoh, joined Yahoo Finance Live to discuss what the stimulus bill will mean for the restaurant owners.

Video Transcript

SIBILE MARCELLUS: Now President Trump signed that on Sunday, and that means more loans. About $285 billion will be accessible to small businesses as a part of the Paycheck Protection Program. Also there's going to be another $12 billion set aside specifically for minority-owned businesses.

I want to bring in Adenah Bayoh. She's the founder of Cornbread Restaurants, the owner of numerous IHOP franchises, and also a real-estate developer. Adenah, it's great to have you on.

ADENAH BAYOH: Hey. Good to have you. Good to see you.

SIBILE MARCELLUS: For sure. For sure, Adenah. So I wanted to get into the stimulus that's been passed that's rolling out right now. So how did it go for you the first time around, and what do you expect this time around? Are you going to be applying for some of those new loans?

ADENAH BAYOH: Absolutely. I'm going to apply. I hope my experience is absolutely different from the last time. And I'm sure everyone is aware of the data. The first time I think about 5% of Black businesses had access to the first round of the CARE Act. I am optimistic that my experience this time will be absolutely different because it was very difficult the first time to get access to the PPP loan.

ADAM SHAPIRO: We're eating tonight at a restaurant that had difficulty getting that first loan, and we're glad they're still in business, but we want to make sure they get there to the spring. What opportunity as a business owner do you see-- once we get past this, if you can manage to stay afloat, is there going to be the opportunity to start and build for those who do make it? Will you be able to do that?

ADENAH BAYOH: Yeah. I am extremely optimistic for those restaurants that do make it out of this pandemic. I sit on the national-- on the New Jersey Restaurant Association as a board member, and the horror stories are really, really heartbreaking, right?

So I think I'm optimistic that if we can kind of needle our way out of this pandemic as an industry that, you know, there's an upside. People are tired of sitting in their houses. They're going to be looking to come out. I'm hopeful that, you know, we're going to grow as an industry. Right now it's not looking great for us, but I am extremely optimistic, you know, for 2021 if we can make it out of this period. The next five months I want to say.

SIBILE MARCELLUS: And, Adenah, following up on what Adam was saying, so what does the spring look like? So hopefully by then tens of millions of Americans will have been vaccinated. Restaurants won't be obligated to have outdoor dining in the middle of a snowstorm like we've seen in some instances. What do you expect for the spring for restaurants? Do you expect, like, a big boom? What's it going to look like?

ADENAH BAYOH: I won't say a big boom because I think people are still cautiously going out to restaurants. We're not going to see this big rush to go to your favorite restaurant.

I think people are going to come out. I think once the weather breaks slightly and we get warmer weather-- you kind of saw it in the summertime-- and we can do some more outdoor seating, especially in the New York-New Jersey market, I think I am extremely optimistic that you're going to get-- we're going to get close to 60% to 70% of our consumer back into the restaurant. That is my feel.

ADAM SHAPIRO: When we walk by empty store fronts now-- no matter where you live in the country, this is a phenomenon we're witnessing. Do you think that landlords will be dropping rents and making it more affordable for restaurants to start up again?

ADENAH BAYOH: Yeah, I think we have to. I think, again, the restaurant industry is the industry that has sustained America, OK? I think whenever you get married, you get married in your favorite hall. Food is provided by the restaurant. When you celebrate a birthday or anniversary-- I think landlords are going to have to get creative in how we strike this deal with restaurants, right?

So your normal square-foot number is going to have to come down. I think landlords are understanding that. This industry is hurting, but there is a huge upside to the people and entrepreneurs that are going to make it into 2021. So as a landlord, I'd much rather negotiate a really good deal with someone that's taking a chance into going into the very industry that has been hit very hard than to sit with an empty storefront, right?

So I think, you know, we're all in this together, and I think landlords are going to have to understand that we're not going to get through this by ourself. They're going to have to chip in and help us out.

SIBILE MARCELLUS: And, Adenah, how long do you think you can hold up your business until you get that next round of Paycheck Protection Program loans?

ADENAH BAYOH: I am optimistic that I can go another three-- you know, another-- I can't do another three months without some kind of aid from the federal government. I think if you look at me as a Black woman, historically we've always been very disenfranchised when it comes to access to capital, when it comes to inequalities in the financial industry period.

So for me, it was already not a very rosy picture for me when there was an epidemic. Put that on top of the pandemic and see how the industry have hit my community, we need the federal government to chip in because the banks are not looking to bail us out at all.

So, you know, can I go to a bank right now and get a loan? Highly unlikely. That's why we need these PPP loans, not another four weeks. We need it now. We need aid now.

SIBILE MARCELLUS: I'm with you, Adenah. I hope that the new Paycheck Protection Program loans arrive as soon as possible, not in months but in days. Adenah Bayoh, founder of Cornbread Restaurants, IHOP franchises, and real-estate developer, thanks so much.

ADENAH BAYOH: Thank. You Thanks for having me, guys.