Davids Celebrates National Small Business Week with Local Business Owners in Downtown Mission

MISSION, KS – Today, Representative Sharice Davids held a "Main Street Stroll" in Downtown Mission to celebrate National Small Business Week, visiting four small businesses and hosting the owners for a roundtable discussion. During the roundtable, they discussed how federal relief programs helped them stay open through the pandemic and the challenges they still face.

Many of those owners received federal relief aid from American Rescue Plan programs like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Restaurant Revitalization Fund to keep staff on payroll and make ends meet during the pandemic. Davids is the only member of the Kansas delegation who voted to support small businesses through the American Rescue Plan. Businesses that participated included: Lulu's Boutique, Sandhills Brewing Company, Estrella Azul, and Garage Door Apparel Co.

"I loved visiting with some of our fantastic and diverse local shops today, and as I told them: whether it's National Small Business Week or not, I'm going to stand up for Kansas small businesses," said Davids. "Through my role on the Small Business Committee, I'm going to keep listening to our business community and centering their concerns as I work to address supply chain issues and lower costs for Kansans."

Rep. Davids and Jenny Pugh, owner of Lulu's Boutique in Mission.

"My message is: please choose local small shops! There's always a counterpart to the big box store that is small business, owned by a person in your community, and all of the dollars you spend at that small business will stay in the community," said Jenny Pugh, Owner of Lulu's Boutique.

Rep. Davids with Jonathan Williamson, one of the owners of Sandhills Brewing Company in Mission.

"Slowly getting back to having people join us inside again has been a big change. We got the Paycheck Protection Program early on—we got three and a half months of payroll and it was a lifeline. We would not have our whole team today if we had not had that," said Jonathan Williamson, owner of Sandhills Brewing Company. "Our big issue now is just keeping enough inventory on hand to keep producing beer. Supply chains are getting worse and sometimes just half of the costs on a shipment are freight."

Rep. Davids and Isael Andrade, owner of Estrella Azul restaurant.

"We are glad to join Rep. Sharice Davids to highlight the local restaurants and businesses here in Mission. We have a strong community of both fellow business owners and loyal customers. Through their support and with the federal relief funds Rep. Davids helped secure, we were able to weather the pandemic and continue serving our neighbors," said Isael Andrade, Owner of Estrella Azul.

Rep. Davids visits Garage Door Apparel Co. with owner Becky Fankhauser.

"When the pandemic started, we adjusted our business to meet the community need and started sewing face masks. We navigated through on our own until receiving a small grant 14 months in," said Becky Fankhauser, Garage Door Apparel Co. "As our company moves forward in the pandemic, we are still very much in hustle mode. Despite rising costs and challenges, we are committed to continuing to create affordable and quality goods."

As a member of the House Small Business Committee, Davids has pushed for oversight of relief programs and urged the Small Business Administration to address fraud and protect small business owners in need. As Chair of the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax, and Capital Access, she has chaired hearings focused on shoring up supply chains for small- and medium-sized manufacturers here at home, and passed legislation to support women entrepreneurs. Additionally, she voted to provide relief funds to restaurants who lost out on the first round of emergency aid.