Family-Run Business Struggles To Stay Afloat During Coronavirus Pandemic
Deborah Ponder works in the family business, Ponder’s Dry Cleaners.
Maria White Tillman / WABE
Many small business owners wonder how long they’ll hold on, especially with talk of another lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic that remains in the forefront for health officials.
The family owners of Ponder’s Dry Cleaners say this year they will celebrate their 50th year in business.
And they say they are one of the oldest minority-owned businesses in Atlanta.
Leigh Johnson is the granddaughter of the late Margaret Ponder who first began their family-run business in southwest Atlanta.
Johnson’s uncle, Roderick Ponder, is the current owner of the cleaners. She added, the family did apply for COVID-19 relief funds but didn’t receive them.
Roderick Ponder told WABE his mother, Margaret Ponder, became owner of the business after winning an auction for the property and securing a loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration in 1970.
Ponder said when his mother died, he became the owner and manager.
He said he strives to continue the legacy of “superior dry cleaning work.”
Johnson says they did get a small loan as part of the Paycheck Protection Program earlier this year, but it really was not enough to help make ends meet.
She added the business needs a few hundred thousand dollars to repair infrastructure and replace equipment and to pay off debt.
The business has struggled over the years with a shift in clientele and lower demand of its services.
Equipment updates and repairs along with operational expenses have exhausted their funds.
WABE’s Maria White Tillman contributed to this report.
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