BERLIN, Md. -- U.S. Senator Ben Cardin and other lawmakers traveled to Berlin on Thursday, August 17th. It was to speak with local officials to get a pulse on how businesses across the Eastern Shore are fairing.
A part of Senator Cardin's trip to Berlin was a tour through downtown, where he made several stops at small businesses. Senator Cardin spoke with shop owners about how they navigated through the tough times the COVID-19 pandemic brought about.
When COVID hit and people began bunkering down in their homes, small businesses were faced with a challenge. Especially brick-and-mortar locations, which encompasses many of the stores in Berlin, including Heart of Gold, owned by Emily Vocke.
"We didn't really know how long we were going to have to be shut down so that was very scary," said Vocke.
Needing to do something, anything really, Vocke decided to take her merchandise to the consumer.
"I had boxes but no really way to sell, so I hopped on Instagram and Facebook and did lots of Facetimes," said Vocke. "I did home deliveries, curbside deliveries, whatever really it took to keep us afloat at the time."
Another business that had to think outside the box during the pandemic was The Buzz Meadery, which opened up in January of 2020. Originally a taproom, the business began to suffer when capacity at restaurants was limited.
So very similar to Vocke's method of keeping her business alive, one of The Buzz Meadery's owners, Brett Hines, made their product mobile.
"I bought a van so I could go to farmers markets and I probably hit up five or six farmers markets a week for the first year, which was a tremendous amount of running around," said Hines. "But it got us the sales we needed to be able to float our business.
That type of resiliency is what Senator Cardin came to Berlin to hear. One of the stops along the way was 'Love Your Mama', a store that specializes in sustainable items. The store's owner, Lizzie Ottenstein, opened up her location in late 2021.
But it was after she was turned down for a loan and after she had to take matters into her own hands, dipping into her savings account.
"We needed to prove that we had what it took to get in here and make the space happen and pay our rent and pay our bills," said Ottenstein. "So I ended up just bootstrapping and personally funding the business."
Senator Cardin said lawmakers need to make sure situations like Ottenstein's happen far less frequently. He said banks like to make large loans, which can leave small businesses, who often require smaller loans, out in the cold.
"What we can do in Washington is open up more avenues available for capital and for dealing with the challenges of being a small business owner," said Cardin.
Some of that work has already been accomplished. A bipartisan bill was approved by the Small Business Committee that would provide for more community lending.
"We want to make sure that that $100,000 loan can be made to a small business owner," said Cardin. "So with community lenders their mission is to help the smaller small businesses, we've got to make it easier for them to do business."