Resilient Success: USPAACC and U.S. SBA Collaborate to Propel Thai Restaurant Through Pandemic Challenges

The US Pan Asian Amer­i­can Cham­ber of Com­merce Edu­ca­tion Foun­da­tion (USPAACC) has released a video inter­view with Sum­sak (Andy) Cham­narnkong, co-own­er of Gub Khao Thai Restau­rant in Pater­son, New Jer­sey. The inter­view high­lights how the restau­rant over­came pan­dem­ic chal­lenges with the sup­port of USPAACC and the U.S. Small Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion’s Com­mu­ni­ty Nav­i­ga­tor Pilot Pro­gram (CNPP). Mr. Cham­narnkong dis­cuss­es the impact of pan­dem­ic-dri­ven infla­tion, uti­liza­tion of CNPP ser­vices from USPAACC North­east, and how USPAAC­C’s assis­tance expand­ed the restau­ran­t’s online and offline reach, ulti­mate­ly boost­ing cus­tomer base and sales.

The U.S. Small Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion’s Com­mu­ni­ty Nav­i­ga­tor Pilot Pro­gram (CNPP), launched on Decem­ber 1, 2021, is a for­ward-think­ing ini­tia­tive aimed at assist­ing small busi­ness­es in post-pan­dem­ic recov­ery and fos­ter­ing growth. By fund­ing orga­ni­za­tions in col­lab­o­ra­tion with the SBA, the pro­gram estab­lish­es a net­work of local enti­ties to con­nect small busi­ness­es with a range of resources, includ­ing finan­cial assis­tance, oper­a­tional guid­ance, con­tract­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties, mar­ket­ing sup­port, train­ing, and more. Focused on break­ing bar­ri­ers, the pro­gram specif­i­cal­ly tar­gets under­served communities.

USPAACC, the largest and most estab­lished non­prof­it orga­ni­za­tion, is a key play­er in advo­cat­ing for Pan Asian American/​AANHPI busi­ness­es in the U.S. With an exten­sive net­work of mem­bers, part­ners, and affil­i­ates nation­wide, USPAACC pro­vides ser­vices and pro­grams to sup­port the suc­cess and growth of Pan Asian American/​AANHPI businesses.

In Octo­ber 2021, USPAACC achieved Tier 1 Nation­al Hub sta­tus from the SBA, secur­ing a $500,000 grant to imple­ment CNPP ser­vices. Oper­at­ing as a Nation­al Hub, USPAACC over­sees 14 State Spokes, cater­ing to diverse seg­ments of the Pan Asian American/​AANHPI busi­ness community.

Gub Khao Thai Restau­rant, found­ed by Hathaichanok (Lin­da) Cham­narnkong and Som­sak Cham­narnkong, is a fam­i­ly-owned estab­lish­ment in Pater­son, NJ, offer­ing authen­tic Thai cui­sine. Despite chal­lenges start­ing dur­ing the pan­dem­ic, the restau­rant received vital assis­tance from CNPP through USPAACC North­east. This sup­port includ­ed secur­ing a $19,214 grant from the New Jer­sey Eco­nom­ic Devel­op­ment Author­i­ty, address­ing oper­a­tional hur­dles, and enhanc­ing online/​offline out­reach. The grant proved cru­cial, cov­er­ing over 20 per­cent of the restau­ran­t’s annu­al rev­enue in 2022, enabling improve­ments and con­tribut­ing to increased cus­tomer base and sales. Cur­rent­ly employ­ing four full-time staff, Gub Khao Thai Restau­rant plans fur­ther expan­sion as it con­tin­ues to thrive.

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