Small businesses nationwide borrowed more than $300 billion in disaster relief loans to weather COVID-related lockdowns, and they’re on the hook to pay it back. It’s not just the Alpuche and the Redline. We're gonna take a 30-year loan out, I'll figure out a way to pay it so we survive.’” Between back rent, water, power, and other bills, he owes $487,000 – far more than he can imagine actually paying back.Īlpuche took out PPP and disaster relief loans, but he’s learned that some of them come with a price: “You think a disaster relief loan is something that's like, ‘Yay, it's gonna help you, you don't have to pay interest,’” he says.īut no: “The interest is higher than a mortgage, the payments are as long as the mortgage. According to owner Oliver Alpuche, he’s facing a mountain of debt that he accumulated during that long closure. Bartenders sling drinks, emcees host drag performances, and customers party in a safe space for LA’s LGBTQ+ community.īut the Redline has a financial hangover. Hanging out at downtown LA gay bar Redline, you’d think 15 months of pandemic closure was a distant memory, now that bars have been reopened for almost a year.
