No Grease! barbershops reopened at 5 p.m. May 22, when Gov. Roy Cooper allowed some businesses to reopen after being ordered closed for weeks because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
But while most barbers and staff have since come back to work, in staggered shifts, the future remains pretty uncertain for the Charlotte-based business.
"If I was a gambling man, I would say we’re going to need more assistance moving forward, just to get through," said Damian Johnson, who co-founded No Grease! with his twin brother, Jermaine, 23 years ago.
The Johnson brothers are among millions of entrepreneurs across the country who have secured Paycheck Protection Program loans as government mandates were issued to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. With the U.S. unemployment rate now above 13%, the PPP — though fraught with issues, especially at launch — became a lifeline for business owners who couldn't afford to keep their staff on payroll with little to no revenue coming in.
Johnson said the nearly $100,000 PPP loan No Grease! secured "no doubt" kept their heads above water. The barbershop missed out on the first round of funding — $349 billion that dried up in two weeks — but secured a loan in the second round through Bank of America.
"It was like a lottery pick almost ... are we going to win it or not?" Johnson said.
And while terms of PPP loan forgiveness have been changed to include, among other things, business owners being able to spend loan proceeds in 24 instead of eight weeks and a reduced payroll cost requirement, the future is unknown.
Johnson said applying for loans and grants has become his full-time job, even now, after being open a few weeks. It's a strange new world for him after No Grease! had strong cash flow prior to the pandemic.
"I didn’t need any loan or debt to do business — now, all of a sudden, I need to borrow money to do business," he said. "I find that to be very tricky."
In the early days of the pandemic, he and his brother spent hours on Zoom calls, helping temporarily out-of-work barbers — who are independent contractors — apply for financial assistance. No Grease! employs about 50 independent contractors and 10 staff members, most of whom are back to work in some capacity.
Despite the uncertainties, Johnson said he and his brother intend to be opportunistic. Right before the pandemic hit locally, No Grease! was ready to finalize deals to open two new barbershops, in Charlotte and Greensboro. Those expansions were paused, but the business owners are getting ready to move ahead soon with the Charlotte location, then the Greensboro shop by the end of 2020.
The brothers also own and run a barber school in town, which reopened this week. Although No Grease! followed strict sanitation measures before Covid-19 — akin to hospital standards, Johnson said — the new generation of barbers will be even more prepared for new pandemic realities post-graduation.
"I know at some point, once people are more comfortable and we have an understanding of the new normal, we’re going to be fine," Johnson said.