Small businesses are struggling because of the coronavirus pandemic globally and Atlanta's NaanStop is no exception. In a recent interaction with the US President Joe Biden, the owners of the Indian restaurant-Samir and Neal talked at length about the challenges they faced due to the pandemic and how the American Rescue Plan will help them stride through these challenges.
Samir said during the course of the interaction, "As small business owners during the pandemic, every day is an open question. When President Biden found out about our situation, he reached out."
Following this, President Joe Biden asks "So how're you guys doing? It's been pretty rough, hasn't it, lately?" leading Neal to tell him that their business has gone down by a whopping 75 per cent due to the pandemic. Neal added that though they haven't laid off any employee, they are down to about 10-15 staffers.
President Biden then asks both the owners, "What is the greatest need you have now for your restaurants to be able to survive?" to which Neal answers that everybody should be vaccinated on a priority basis as "if people aren't out shopping, the economy grinds to a halt."
Following this, the President acknowledges the role of small businesses in holding communities together and providing "half the workforce in America". Biden expounds on the American Rescue Plan later and says, "I put together a rescue plan that provides tens of billions of dollars in grants to small businesses. We have to invest more, not less. We got to give you a chance to rebuild that's separate and apart from dealing with the virus."
The American Rescue Plan is a $1.9 trillion support package launched by the Biden-Harris administration to provide vaccination, safely reopen schools, give relief to working families and support communities hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic like small businesses.
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