Bradenton-based restaurant utilizes bridge loan to sustain lack of tourists
Capalbo’s Pizza of Manatee County
Even though Capalbo’s Pizza, located in Bradenton, focuses on its all you can eat pizza, soup and salad bar, it has still felt the effects of red tide in Manatee County. Naturally, although the restaurant doesn’t specialize in seafood, it has still been impacted economically, as tourists search for other areas to soak up the sun. Looking for a way to sustain their employees until customer traffic returns, owners Radka Watson and Peter Ross reached out to the Florida SBDC at USF to begin the process of applying for a State of Florida Emergency Bridge Loan.
When asked about his experience with the damage from red tide and the assistance received, they recalled:
WHAT TYPE OF DAMAGE OCCURRED?
Unfortunately, because of the red tide in Manatee County and its heavy broadcasting of its impact on the waters made them unusable and foul, caused economic injury due to lack of tourism in the area that our business heavily relies on. The fact that [millions] of fish [were] killed devastated all types of service industries in the area, including Cortez Village, the oldest fishing community in Florida.
HOW WILL THE BRIDGE LOAN HELP?
The loan approval meant the opportunity to keep continue employing all of our loyal staff.
HOW WAS THE FLORIDA SBDC AT USF HELPFUL DURING THIS PROCESS?
SBDC and namely Ms. Dorina Hart was very professional and knowledgeable and guided us through the whole application process to lead us to successful approval, and we thank you, Ms. Hart and SBDC for all the help.
