Eppig Brewing’s Vista headquarters opened in late 2019, just three months before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’d only been open for about three months in Vista before COVID shut everything down,” said Todd Warshaw, CEO of Eppig Brewing. “It was pretty frustrating. All of our traffic the first few months were people coming after work, and for more than a year nobody went to their office.”
Wary of the struggle small businesses were facing, last November the City of Vista used funds received from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funding to begin a small business grant program for those in Vista who have experienced economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The city dedicated $2.7 million to the program, administered by the Vista Chamber of Commerce, that awarded funds to businesses that qualified based on selection criteria and demonstrated financial loss.
“There [are] still funds available,” said CEO of the Vista Chamber of Commerce Rachel Beld.
“We rolled it out last November and it’s still underway. We’ve been able to support a number of businesses with business grants anywhere from $1,000 to $25,000. It’s an incredible opportunity to support these businesses.”
