Not all businesses will survive the pandemic, despite an influx of financial support.

Five months into the U.S. response to the Covid-19 pandemic, many small businesses are struggling to keep their doors open. At Steamin’ Hot Coffee & Espresso in Moss Landing, Jennifer Lawrence says it was a tough call whether to close permanently. She’s owned and operated the cafe for almost nine years, and came into the business with an accounting background: “The numbers were telling me my business was tanking.”

Prior to the pandemic, Steamin’ Hot was profitable. Lawrence built up a clientele of locals and commuters, and for at least nine months out of the year, there was a steady stream of tourists. She eventually hired 10 employees, allowing her to focus less on day-to-day operations and more on number-crunching. “Every year I’d see an average of 5 – to 6-percent sales increases,” she says. Her best year, 2016, saw a 10-percent increase.

When shelter-in-place began in March, she had to adjust. “I was like most business owners thinking this is temporary,” she says. Then reality set in: this situation was for the long haul. Lawrence had to keep up with health orders, weigh out the health risks and try to coax employees back to work because many were afraid of exposure.

During that time she also applied for loans, receiving around $80,000 from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and $36,000 from the Paycheck Protection Program. She used some of that money to install a drive-up window so she could close the lobby and still serve customers. She reopened on May 16. By June 20, she shut her doors again, with revenue down by 60 percent.

It’s unknown how many local businesses have had to permanently close due to Covid-19, but the county’s Workforce Development Board estimates of 1,000 businesses surveyed from March to June, 42 percent have shuttered.

Beyond federal relief, the cities of Monterey and Marina have also launched stimulus plans; Monterey allocated $1 million to the effort, Marina $100,000. “Small businesses are our color. They add vibrancy to our community,” says Monica Lal of the Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, the partner that operates the Monterey Peninsula Small Business Relief Fund. Since May 28, the chamber has received around 300 applicants and has awarded grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 to around 100 businesses.

Marina’s relief fund has made loans to 10 small businesses, averaging $9,030. Assistant City Manager Matt Mogensen says any little bit helps, particularly for businesses that cannot operate during the pandemic, noting business owners are “concerned that they will not be able to survive if closed much longer.”

Lal reports that many businesses are adapting, sometimes leaving brick-and-mortar operations, while others have negotiated month-to-month leases or pay lower rent because their payments are based on a percentage of sales. One example is Monterey’s Old Capitol Books, which closed its physical location in June, but continues operating as an online bookseller and virtual venue.

Lawrence, who closed entirely, is reaching out to federal lawmakers advocating for more grants instead of loans. “The rug was pulled from under us,” she says. “No one should have to come out of this pandemic without a business and incurring debt.”