Christopher Finnick runs Mama's Southern Style Barbecue in Vauxhall, New Jersey, opened by his uncle in 1997. When COVID hit, PPP and EIDL loans kept the restaurant alive while many local soul-food places closed. They kept every employee and got help with filing, pricing, and supplies.
Questions this video answers
Christopher Finnick.
Vauxhall, New Jersey.
1997 (opened by his uncle).
About 24 years (speaker says "over, like, 24 years").
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL).
Chapters
Well, my name is Christopher Finnick. I am the CEO of Mama's Southern Style Barbecue, too. Vauxhall, New Jersey. Well, Mama's Barbecue been in existence for over, like, 24 years. It got started by my uncle. He opened it in 97.
And in March, when Covid hit, I'm.
Like, oh, wow, you know, how we gonna make it? Because it got real. It got real, you know, slow period. But, well, you know, Dave Mongolie was telling me, you know, from King University or the sba, let me know what's about to come, what's about to hit, sending me emails. The SBA just was keeping me on point on everything. Just helped me walk through, you know, telling me some things to do. And also, you know, with the loans.
That I had previous to help me get here, you know, and then the PPP loan, it just.
It just all came together and helped me keep my employees during the COVID and then the Eidl, the disaster loan.
That helped us keep the employees.
We didn't lose no employees, and we stayed open through the COVID God willing. And at one time, we was maybe one of the only, you know, soul food restaurants that was open at the time during the COVID you know, you had places in North Irvington, Maplewood shut.
Down, and we was, like, one of.
The only ones that was still able to keep going and, God willing, you know, make it through.
We are really excited to have been able to help Mama's Southern Style Barbecue. We help them with their pricing, with their sales, helping them to get through COVID 19. It's really important for us to be able to help all restaurants. We're thrilled to be able to help Mama's Southern Style Barbecue through this terrible time.
The impact of COVID the things you have to do, you know, sanitizing, trying.
To get the supplies for that and.
Also letting, you know, you know, mainly how to file and what to look for in these, you know, programs that they was coming up with, what you might qualify for, what you were not, you know, just keeping me kind of ahead of the game during the COVID the sba, without them, I don't know, you know, where I would have been as far as helping me with the.
Employees and myself, the business.
It was like.
It was like a, you know, a guy sent from heaven to just, like.
