VAN NUYS, Calif. – On June 1, the Don Larry Watch & Jewelry Repair shop in Van Nuys was the target of looting and vandalism when a peaceful Black Lives Matter rally turned destructive. A group of people used the protest as an excuse to break into businesses and steal merchandise.
This shop has been the life’s work of Cindy Torres’ father, Larry Contreras. She was heartbroken to see his business completely destroyed.
“This has been really shocking and just unexpected and devastating to see his whole life just broken down into pieces on one day,” said Torres.
The next day, when Torres and her family returned to the shop to assess the damage, they found that people in the community had already started the cleanup process.
“This is the America I know,” said Torres in tears as she walked among the volunteers, thanking them for their help.
Larry Contreras has lived and worked in Van Nuys for 40 years.
But he’s not just a business owner. He’s also a pastor at a local church. So people in the community come into his repair shop to see him for just about everything.
“They know he's a pastor. So they'll come and ask him for advice. And he knows a lot of people, he knows lawyers. He knows how to help people with immigration. So people come here, not just for watches or jewelry," said Torres.
Contreras suffered $70,000 in loss of inventory and damage. What made the situation even worse was that he didn’t have any insurance.
“I did think, 'What is he going to do? What are we going to do as a family?'” said Torres.
Then she heard that the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans and Advance Program had been re-opened to help small businesses repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, equipment, and inventory, or fund other expenses. Torres helped her father fill out the necessary forms.
While they wait to see if the emergency loan will come through, in the meantime people have donated everything from new display cases to a new cash register in order to help her dad get back on his feet.
“It changed my worries. That moment and seeing people helping me, and people cleaning. That made me feel very good,” Torres said.
As the shop slowly re-opens, loyal customers are bringing things in for Contreras to repair again.
“It feels good to see that my dad has the opportunity start over again. And a lot of people have helped, so I’m really grateful,” said Torres.
She remains hopeful the business that took her father four decades to build, and just a single day to be destroyed, will be saved with an emergency loan.
These SBA disaster loans are only available for damages and losses due to the civil unrest and not for COVID-19 related losses. Interest rates are based on each applicant's financial circumstances and can be as low as 3 percent for businesses, and 2.75 percent for nonprofit organizations with terms up to 30 years.
Applications can be completed online, by calling the SBA's customer service center at 800-659-2955, or by emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.