Ruth’s Chris Steak House Responds to Backlash; Will Return $20M Loan

The funds in the Paycheck Protection Program were gone within two weeks.

The $350 billion PPP was meant to be a temporary lifeline to small businesses who are struggling during the pandemic. However, it was announced that all the funds were gone faster than the government expected, leaving business owners high and dry.

Ruth's Chris Steak House has over 100 locations in three different countries, including three in Michigan. They claim that the were eligible for the loans because they have less than 500 employees per location, and took two separate $10 million loans from the PPP.

After outrage and a change.org petition signed by more than 250,000 people, the CEO has said that they will pay back the loans at an "accelerated" rate.

This makes me so angry. One of our good friends, who is also our neighbor, has her own hair salon in Flint Township and she's been shut down because of the coronavirus. She received unemployment but was denied a loan because the money was gone.