Companies

AutoNation, a national network of auto sellers, provides buyers with new and pre-used vehicles throughout the United States. AutoNation was founded in 1996 and has more than 360 retail outlets.

• AutoNation received more than $77 million in federal small-business funds despite being a company worth billions that employed more than 26,000 people before the pandemic.
• It should be noted that they returned the money after publicity regarding this loan went viral.

Axios is an American news website that was founded in 2016 and launched in 2017. Since their inception, Axios has managed to raise $57 Million in funding over 3 rounds. Axios is known for their digital media presence from Facebook and Snapchat to their own website.

• Despitebeing backed by numerous billionaires and big name companies, Axios applied for and secured a $5 million forgivable Paycheck Protection loan intended for struggling small businesses.
• It should be noted that they returned the money after publicity regarding this loan went viral.

J. Alexander's is a casual restaurant chain headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The first restaurant opened in 1991 and J. Alexander’s went public in 2015. In 2017, they acquired the popular 99 restaurant chain. J. Alexander’s now has 46 restaurants in 16 different states.

• Despite being a publicly traded company, J. Alexander’s applied for and secured a $15.1 million forgivable Paycheck Protection loan intended for struggling small businesses.
• It should be noted that they returned the money after publicity regarding this loan went viral.

Nathan's Famous is a chain of fast food restaurants specializing in hot dogs. The original Nathan's restaurant was founded in 1916 in the Coney Island neighborhood of New York City. Nathan’s is also famous for their annual 4th of July hot dog eating contest, where contestants try to eat as many hot dogs as possible in 10 minutes.

• Despite being a publicly traded company, Nathan’s Famous applied for and secured a $1.2 million forgivable Paycheck Protection loan intended for struggling small businesses.
• It should be noted that they returned the money after publicity regarding this loan went viral.

Potbelly Corporation is a publicly traded restaurant chain with almost 500 locations. Headquartered in Chicago, Potbelly is best known for their submarine sandwiches and “olden time” décor.

• Despite having around 7,000 employees, Potbelly applied for and secured a $10 million forgivable Paycheck Protection loan intended for small businesses from JPMorgan Chase.
• Just four days before Potbelly publicly secured their loan they paid an exec a $100,000 bonus even though the company announced on March 30 that it would temporarily reduce senior executive pay by 25 percent due to the pandemic.
• It should be noted that they returned the money after publicity regarding this loan went viral.

Ruth's Chris Steak House is a chain of steakhouses with over 100 locations across North America. Its workforce comprises more than 5000 employees. Ruth's Chris has been a publicly traded company since 2005.

• Despite having more than 5,000 employees across more than 100 restaurants,proactively applied for and accepted a $20M Paycheck Protection Program loan intended for small businesses as part of the CARES act.
• It should be noted that the company returned the money after a large public backlash.

Shake Shack is a casual restaurant chain based in New York City. After its 2001 beginning in a shack in Central Park, and its popularity grew until it became the well-known burgers-and-shakes chain it is today.

• Despite having more than 6,000 employees, proactively applied for and took a $10M Paycheck Protection Program loan intended for small businesses as part of the CARES act.
• It should be noted that they returned the money after publicity regarding this loan went viral.

SweetGreen is a $1.6 billion fast-casual salad chain. Founded in 2007, SweetGreen provides healthy salads and grain bowls that are made in-house from scratch using only the freshest ingredients. SweetGreen has 91 locations throughout the United States.

• Despite having more than 3,500 employees, SweetGreen managed to apply for and secure a $10 million forgivable Paycheck Protection loan intended for struggling small businesses with less than 500 employees.
• It should be noted that they returned the money after publicity regarding this loan went viral.

The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers are worth an estimated $3.7 billion and are owned by Jeanie Buss.

• Despite being the eighth most valuable sports team in the world, worth an estimated $3.7 billion, The Lakers Franchise applied for and secured a $4.6 million forgivable Paycheck Protection loan intended for struggling small businesses.
• It should be noted that they returned the money after publicity regarding this loan went viral.

Wave Life Sciences is a public, pre-clinical biopharmaceutical company. According to their website, they “focus on delivering transformational therapies for patients with serious, genetically-defined diseases”. Wave Life Sciences was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Singapore.

• Despite being a publicly traded company, Wave Life Sciences applied for and secured a $7.2 million forgivable Paycheck Protection loan intended for struggling small businesses.
• It should be noted that they returned the money after publicity regarding this loan went viral.