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Monday February 22, 2021 vol. CXLV no. 4
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Designed by Mark Dodici ’22
With PPP loans and students in town, local businesses cautiously optimistic By Albert Jiang and Miguel Gracia-Zhang
news editor emeritus and staff writer
JULIAN GOTTFRIED / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN
Jammin’ Crepes, one of several Nassau St. establishments to receive a PPP loan, has been open for outdoor dining.
For the last 10 months, once-busy weekdays in downtown Princeton have felt more like sleepy Sundays. Over the course of the pandemic, many local businesses have been operating on a loss, some have shut their doors for good, and all have had to make painful decisions to cope with bleak economic circumstances. This month, however, some local businesses feel hopeful. As national COVID-19 infection rates drop, many stores are also receiving a second round of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, giving them a vital boost after several disastrous quarters in 2020. In addition, businesses
are seeing an uptick in sales as the 2,887 undergraduates that have returned to campus begin to venture out of the Orange Bubble once more. The Daily Princetonian checked in with six local businesses to discuss rebound after the hardships of the spring, a continued need for economic lifelines, and a call to action for the Princeton community.
“No roadmap”: after economic shutdown in the spring, businesses regroup Last August, the ‘Prince’ reported that while local Princeton businesses received over $200 million in their first round of PPP loans, many were
still struggling to survive due to New Jersey public health mandates and the absence of students on campus. “If it weren’t for the PPP loans, we would probably have to close one of [our branch stores], probably Nassau, and lay off all its staff,” said Jim Sykes, president of the UStore, in an interview with the ‘Prince.’ Back in March, the branch on Nassau Street did have to close, albeit temporarily, while the one on University Place — deemed “essential” because it sells food — remained open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. These hours were severely reduced from the University Place branch’s pre-pandemic business hours, 8 a.m to 4 a.m. As the University all but closed its gates to visitors, the U-Store missed its usual spikes in business. The cancellation of Princeton Preview and Reunions as well as the elimination of the Single Choice Early Action admission cycle meant the loss of the usual flurry of gear purchases by just-admitted students. “Everything Princeton does affects us,” Sykes said. To stay afloat, the U-Store applied for and received $330,000 in first-round PPP loans, according to Sykes. The loan went towards covering payroll costs, rent, and utilities. Other stores have experienced similar revenue losses. Small World Coffee, which has stores on both Witherspoon and Nassau Streets, saw a 40 percent reduction in profits in
This Week in Photos
2020. Last March, the coffee shop closed both its locations and temporarily laid off 45 of its 48 employees. “It was a very surreal time with no roadmap,” co-founder and co-owner of Small World Coffee, Jessica Durrie, said. “I cried that day. Laying off my staff was one of the saddest days of my life.” After the full closure, Durrie set out to reopen Small World Coffee in stages. The Nassau Street location reopened first, with online ordering and bulk pick-up three days a week, which expanded to include beverages and items from their grill. The other location on Witherspoon Street reopened three months after the closure. Small World Coffee received its first PPP loan on April 17. “I submitted it and money just appeared in our bank account,” Durrie said. “It was so weird.” Data released by the Department of the Treasury indicates that Small World Coffee re-
See the rest of the photos under
McCosh Walk at sunset.
VISUAL ESSAYS
In Cartoon Wondering how the campus geese are handling the return of students to the Orange Bubble? Find out in Sandy Yang’s “(Goose) Down with the Humans”
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DAVID R. TRIBBLE / CC-SA 3.0
What happened in Texas? Prof. Jesse Jenkins explains associate podcast editor and head multimedia editor
MARK DODICI / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN
Though many small businesses in Princeton and across the country thank the first round of PPP loans for helping them avoid closing their doors during stringent lockdowns last spring, their difficulties have not fully abated. When applications for a second round of PPP loans opened last month, many Nassau Street businesses jumped at the opportunity for further relief. The first round of loans actually encompassed two funding cycles: one in the first two weeks of the pandemic, and an additional input in April after the first was depleted almost immediately. Now, after a third round of funding for a second loan opportunity, the total sum doled out nears a
JULIAN GOTTFRIED / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN
By Francesca Block and Mark Dodici
Facilities workers clear snow from in front of FitzRandolph gates after Wednesday’s storm.
A second lifeline
A sign outside of McCarter Theater, usually used to promote upcoming shows, offers an optimistic view.
Snow covered campus for the third consecutive week, students flocked to the Center for Jewish Life for a special meal on Saturday, and the McGraw Center for Learning sat nearly-empty, in stark contrast to campus’ constantly-crowded Wawa.
JUSTIN CAI / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN
ceived between $150,000 and $350,000 last year. Durrie credits this loan with allowing her to rehire many staff members “with confidence.”
For the past seven days, a winter storm has rocked the state of Texas. Millions of people spent days without power as the unanticipated cold snap brought deadly outages to the state’s electrical grid. But why Texas? What made this winter storm so catastrophic for them, while the rest of the country largely persisted? And what can states do to protect against these disasters in the future? Today, we talk through these
In The Prospect
questions and more with Jesse Jenkins, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and at the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment whose research focuses on macroscale energy systems and the electricity sector. See PODCASTS
Be sure to subscribe to Daybreak on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you prefer to listen. Stay up-to-date with daily episodes, and enjoy special episodes every weekend.
Have you ever thought, in a math class, “Why on Earth do I need to know this? I have a calculator in my pocket!” G.H. Hardy, one of the most prominent mathematicians of the twentieth century, would agree with you: math is useless. Listen to Gabriel Robare’s latest episode of Book-ish, A Prospect Podcast, for more.