
Add a chain of country clubs, pharmaceutical companies, military contractors, a mobile home manufacturer and a coal company to the list of publicly traded corporations receiving emergency small business loans. That’s in addition to the national and international restaurant chains who’ve famously taken advantage of the federal Paycheck Protection Program loans, according to SEC filings.
Overall, the $325.3M (and counting) these companies received accounted for more than 9 percent of the program’s total $349B. The fund, administered by the Small Business Administration, was intended to cover payroll costs for companies with fewer than 500 employees. (Alternatively, companies could qualify if they recorded both a net income of $5M for the past two fiscal years and a net worth of $15M or less.) About 1.6 million businesses were approved, but the money, which was provided on a first-come-first serve basis, ran out in less than two weeks.
Multiple banks like Wells Fargo and Chase Manhattan are now accused of prioritizing the applications of well-heeled corporations over mom-and-pops, because the commissions on large loans are larger.
While these entities secured small business loans, many also expanded their credit lines by tens of millions of dollars, sold off stock to raise funds and took other steps available only to to large corporations.
In addition, one was in the process of delisting itself from the stock exchange (often a first step toward Chapter 11 bankruptcy). Another faced a class action lawsuit alleging misrepresentations of revenue. And yet another found financially unstable by independent auditors just weeks before it was awarded a PPP loan.
The Associated Press on April 21 conducted a similar review of SEC filings.
Note: I reviewed documents filed April 10-17 with the SEC. If you want to keep track yourself, you can search recent filings here. Look for 8-K filings with 1.01 and 2.03 notices. (If there are other ways to track these companies, please let me know in the comments.) Employee totals are pulled from Bloomberg News, Owler and company websites. I’ll be adding info on companies with less than 500 employees shortly.
MORE THAN 500 EMPLOYEES
Ruth’s Hospitality (5,704)
- $20M received
- International restaurant chain
- Group operates 147 high-end Ruth’s Chris Steakhouses in 11 countries.
- Headquarters: Winter Park, Florida
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Fogo de Chao (unknown)
- $20 million received
- International restaurant chain
- Brazillian steakhouse with 57 locations in four countries
- As reported by Business Insider, who quoted the Wall Street Journal.
- Who’s in Charge
J. Alexander’s Holdings, Inc. (4,200 employees)
- $15.1M recieved
- National restaurant group
- This group operates J. Alexander’s, Redlands Grill, Stoney River, Overland Park, Lyndhurst Grill and Merus Grill restaurants – 47 locations in total – in 16 states.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
- Of note: It’s the J. Alexander’s and Stoney River subsidiaries, which encompasses the bulk of the group’s restaurants, which received the loans.
Hallador Energy Company (915 employees)
- $10M received
- Energy Company
- Bituminous coal mining and coal processing
- SEC Filing
- Balance sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Fiesta Restaurant Group (10,480 employees)
- $10M received
- Regional restaurant chain
- Operates 152 restaurants in Texas and New Mexico.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Potbelly Corp (6,000 employees)
- $10M received
- National restaurant chain
- A sandwich shop with 400+ locations nationwide
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Shake Shack (7,603 employees)
- $10M (returned)
- International restaurant chain
- Burger chain with 189 locations across the U.S. and in 14 other countries.
- SEC Filing
- Who’s in Charge
Zagg Inc. (628 employees)
- $9.4M received
- Tech hardware
- Company manufactures cell phone accessories like protective cases, earbuds and keyboards internationally. Brands include Invisible Shield, Mophie, Gear4, Halo, Braven, iFrogz.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
- Of note: At the same time Zagg was applying for $9.4 million in small business loans, it was expanding its line of credit by $19.8 million to $144 million.
Broadwind Energy (521 employees)
- $9.5M received
- Renewable Energy
- Wind tower and other industrial steel manufacturing.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Air T, Inc (850 employees)
- $8.2M received
- Industrial transportation
- Provides aviation ground support equipment, aircraft asset management, logistics and maintenance.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
New Age Beverages (889 employees)
- $6.9 million received
- Beverage distributor
- Licenses and distributes well known brands like Nestea, Evian, Xing Tea, Bucha, Water Is Life, Volvic Water and ‘Nhanced. Headquartered in Denver, Colo.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
DMC Global Inc. (741 employees)
- $6.7M recived
- Metal Products
- Serves the energy, industrial and infrastructure industries with a family of products and process businesses. Based in Broomfield.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Legacy Housing Corp (800 employees)
- $6.6M received
- Mobile home manufacturer
- A real estate company that manufactures, sells and finances mobile homes throughout the US.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
- Of note: John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight recently explored issues surrounding the mobile homes industry.
Lindblad Expeditions Holdings (650 employees)
- $6.6M received
- Tourism
- Lindblad and its subsidiary company Natural Habitat Adventures offers educationally oriented land and sea voyages, like polar bear tours and “African” safaris, according to recent filings.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Kura Sushi USA, Inc. (1,261 employees)
- $6 million recieved
- Restaurant, national chain
- The largest revolving sushi chain in the U.S. operates 23 restaurants in California, Texas, Georgia, Illinois and Nevada.
- Headquarters:
- SEC filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
- Of note: Kura’s Japan-based parent company operates more than 400 restaurants.
Drive Shack Inc. (551 employees)
- $5.3M received
- Entertainment
- Drive Shack operates four country clubs throughout the south and offers a variety of golf-related services.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
US Auto Parts Network (834 employees)
- $4.1M received
- Automotive Retail
- Sells aftermarket automobile parts in the United States, Canada and the Phillipines.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Ultralife Corporation (573 employees)
- $3.5M received
- Renewable Energy
- Company makes backup power (batteries) for government, defense and commercial clients.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
BETWEEN 100 – 499 EMPLOYEES
WaVe Life Sciences, Ltd. (301 employees)
- $7.2M received
- Biopharmaceuticals
- Develops treatments for genetic diseases for which there are no cures.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
TSR Inc (389)
- $6.7M received
- Computer Services
- New York-based company providing contract computer programming personnel to supplement in-house staff.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Continental Materials (460 employees)
- $5.5M received
- Construction materials
- Company manufactures heating and cooling equipment for buildings as well as ready mix concrete and other building materials
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
- Of note: The company is pulling itself off the Stock Exchange, often seen as a first step toward Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This follows an operating loss of $23 million last fiscal year.
SIFCO Industries (434 employees)
- $5 million
- Industrial manufacturing
- Makes parts for military, aerospace and energy sectors.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
- Of note: Clients include Rolls Royce and United Technologies Corp., which recently merged with Raytheon.
Digimarc Corp (170 employees)
- $5M received
- Tech hardware
- Company sells watermarking tech for digital content like movies, photos and important documents like passports for customers worldwide.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Frequency Electronics (280 employees)
- $5M received
- Tech Hardware
- Company makes precision time and frequency products for military, government and commercial ground, sea, air and space terminals.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
EnGlobal Corporation (251 employees)
- $4.9M received
- Industrial Equipment
- Electrical engineering firm services and fabricates equipment for the U.S. Defense Department and oil and gas clients.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Aquestive Therapeutics (232 employees)
- $4.8M received
- Biotech
- Pharmaceutical company that focuses on central nervous system diseases.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
- Of note: Aquestive recently won FDA approval for a drug that could be the first oral therapy to manage seizure clusters, Libervant.
CPI Aerostructures (281 employees)
- $4.8M received
- Industrial Aerospace
- Firm builds aircraft parts for U.S. Military and commercial clients.
- SEC Filings
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
- Of note: CPI is currently facing a class action lawsuit for allegedly overstating revenues to shareholders.
Flotek Industries (273 employees)
- $4.8M received
- Oil and Gas
- Makes extraction chemicals and equipment for fracking companies.
- SEC Filings
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Emmis Communications Corporation (350 employees)
- $4.75M received
- Media Company
- Owns radio stations in LA, Chicago, New York; TV stations throughout the country; and magazines like “Texas Monthly” and “Country Sampler.”
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Conformis, Inc (271 employees)
- $4.7M received
- Medical Devices
- Manufactures and sells knee implants.
- SEC Filings
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Natural Gas Services Group (270 employees)
- $4.6M received
- Oil & Gas
- Produces, sells and rents natural gas compressors and other oilfield equipment.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Optinose Inc. (221 employees)
- $4.4M received
- Pharmaceutical
- Produces products to treat allergies and ear, nose and throat issues. Products include Xhance (to treat nasal polyps) and Onzetra nasal powder.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Crawford United Corp (180 employees)
- $3.7M received
- Financial
- Investment holding company focuses on healthcare, education, aerospace and petrochemicals through its subsidiaries.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Vaso Corporation (294)
- $3.6M received
- Medical devices
- Manufactures microprocessor-based medical devices to treat coronary patients non-invasively.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Biolase Inc (157 employees)
- $3M received
- Healthcare
- Company produces soft tissue dental lasers and other medical devices for California clients.
- SEC filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
CRH Medical Corp (395 employees)
- $3M received
- Healthcare
- Sells medical devices directly to gastroenterologists.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
The Joint Corp (150 employees)
- $2.7M received
- Healthcare
- Operated a nationwide network of 500 chiropractors offices (franchisees) throughout the country, serving 7 million patients.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Smith Midland Corp (232 employees)
- $2.7M received
- Construction materials
- Sells pre-cast concrete products to companies in North America, South America and Europe.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
S&W Seed Corp (150 employees)
- Industrial agriculture
- Breeds, grows and processes agricultural commodities like wheat, sorghum, alfalfa and wheat across five continents.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Enserveco Corp (186 employees)
- $1.9M
- Oil and Gas
- Provides products and services supporting hydraulic fracturing and other extraction processes for the world’s leading producers like BP, Chesapeake, Hess and Antero.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
- Of note: Before the loan was awarded, an independent auditor expressed doubt in March that Enservco would remain financially sound in the coming months.
RiceBran Technologies (102 employees)
- $1.8M
- Consumer products
- Texas-based company that mills rice for pastas, meat products, pet food, horse feed and nutritional powders.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Educational Development Corporation (178 employees)
- $1.45M
- Publishing
- Publishes a line of educational children’s books produced in the UK and owns Kane Miller Book Publishers, offering a combined 2,000 board books, flash cards, art books, sticker books, etc.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (231 employees)
- $1.4M
- Food products
- Confectioner that makes and sells candies in 360 stores in the U.S., Canada, Japan, UAE and the Philippines.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
Workhorse Group (118 employees)
- $1.4M
- Industrial transportation
- Builds battery-electric vehicles; makes delivery drones and vertical takeoff aircraft.
- SEC Filing
- Balance Sheet
- Who’s in Charge
FEWER THAN 100 EMPLOYEES
Coming soon
Before Jessica Fender co-founded Traveler Broads, she was an award-winning criminal justice and public affairs reporter, most recently for The Denver Post.