2019 Phoenix Award for Small Business Disaster Recovery

In late 2017, Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a decade, swept through the Caribbean Sea and up the Florida coast. Despite its devastation, many residents were eager to rebuild and get back to work. In the 19 months since Hurricane Irma, the US Small Business Administration approved over $1.7 billion in disaster loan assistance to renters and businesses. The Phoenix award acknowledges small business owners who focus on their communities despite severe setbacks.

Here at Cheeseburger Baby, we sell the best burgers, not only in south beach, but I think across the country. We use 100% ground beef with an 80 20. Cut a little bit of fat in there to give you a good nice chicken. We cook on a flat top grill instead of a charcoal, so it's like cooking in your mom's cast iron skillet. We've been around since 2001 and we're going strong. When Hurricane Irma hit, one of my employees who decided to not evacuate was the first one on the scene to let us know what the damage was. My wife and I and our five dogs evacuated and one of our good friends in a U haul van, we packed it up and we just drove until we got away from the storms. We didn't have power for over two weeks. We ended up hooking up the generator from the truck to run whatever we needed. Thank God both the stores actually run on propane and not on electric, so we were still able to cook. It was tough. The truck had damage. A big tree fell on the roof and over the truck, so that damaged the roof of the truck we had. Both of our ACs were done. There was flooding. We lost all of our food because of the power. We lost a freezer. So there was just a lot of damage. Originally, I reached out to fema. That's when FEMA referred me to the sba and from there they brought me to the SVDC for the bridge loan. In the meantime, because I was in such a panic and I was desperate, there was no business in the stores. And so that's when we jumped on the trucks and I went up there and just started taking events. And same with here, I took events and we were doing whatever we could with the community too. If somebody needed water, I would drop off cases of water. And, you know, it was just the community was working together.

I don't know if without each other, if we could have done this and without the help of the SBA and sbdc, I just don't think that we would have been able to get through this.

The SBA and the SBDC helped Cheeseburger Baby by giving me the low interest amount loan to help me get back on my feet. I think I'm always gonna have a lifetime relationship with them.

What sets Stephanie apart from other businesses that we work with was just the resilience she's basically survived working through, getting financing, challenges all businesses face in terms of the market, in terms of growth, and Hurricane Irma, she was extremely resilient.

Stephanie found out about SBA's disaster loan program and applied and was able to recover using SBA funds to repair, replace and obtain working capital to keep the business in operation. And as a result of her tenacity, the fact that she kept employees employed, and for her dedication to the businesses around her, to her business and the community, she is a deserving award winner for the 2019 Phoenix Award.

I can tell you this. The future for me is only brighter because I've been through what I've been through with Irma. And if I can make it through this, I know I could conquer so much more in my future. Cheeseburger Baby has a bright future ahead. That's what I feel.