Relief for small business owners affected by snowstorm
Lafayette, La (KLFY)-- It's almost a week after the 2025 blizzard and Acadiana is recovering. With parish wide closures, among those affected are small businesses.
In Downtown Lafayette, small businesses like Central Pizza & Bar were forced to be closed during last week's snowstorm. Because of that, some businesses were affected financially.
The Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness is assisting small businesses affected by the recent snowstorm. Offering small business disaster loans, business affected financially from being closed are encouraged to apply. Garrett Smith, the general manager at Central Pizza & Bar says the restaurant closed during the storm out of caution for employees as well as customers.
"Luckily we didn't have any kind of big structural damage, but, you know, we did have to close down for a good three days," says Smith.
Smith says being closed affected not only the business, but also employees who are paid hourly. He says if the restaurant is closed, they don't make money. As a way to help employees, Central Pizza opened on a day it is normally closed so employees can be compensated.
"We did take that into consideration, and we did open Sunday. We're normally closed on Sunday, but that was just at least an opportunity for our employees to at least recoup a little bit of hours."
Other areas in Acadiana experienced financial effects of the snowstorm. St. Landry Parish President Jessie Bellard sent a statement saying,
"Our local businesses are the backbone of our community, and we're here to help them
recover and thrive. The Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness
(GOHSEP) Small Business Loan Program is a critical resource for businesses in St. Landry
Parish that was impacted by the recent snowstorm. This program offers financial relief to help
businesses rebuild, restock, and stabilize after facing unexpected challenges. We encourage all
eligible business owners to take advantage of this opportunity so that we can continue
strengthening our local economy and ensuring the long-term success of our community."
Smith says being closed for a certain amount of that time during the week can be detrimental financially for a smaller business, especially a small business in downtown Lafayette. He says people should come out not just to Central Pizza, but to other downtown businesses because being closed for a few days affects businesses in a big way.
"It's such a thriving market here in downtown, and we just want to see that continue to boom."
More information on if your business qualifies for a small business loan can be found here.