*By Christian Smith*
As the partial federal government shutdown enters enters its 27th day, American businesses are beginning to feel the strain.
For Fat Brands Inc. ($FAT) ー which owns a number of fast food brands Fatburger, among them ー the consequences of the shutdown are slowly trickling up to corporate, but president and CEO Andy Wiederhorn said franchisees are thus far bearing the brunt of the shutdown.
"I think it's really much harder on the franchise operators because they're trying to build stores they've already started to build, or they've got a lease signed up and now they need their loan to get going for construction," Wiederhorn said Wednesday in an interview with Cheddar.
With the Small Business Administration closed, small businesses are unable to access SBA-backed loans. The SBA usually manages over 300 loans each day, which [The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/01/11/congresswoman-calls-trump-restart-small-business-lending-level-anxiety-is-unprecedented/?utm_term=.f50572777f74) reported amounts to roughly $200 million worth of loans for small and midsize businesses.
Small business owners in need of capital during the shutdown must turn to other sources of funding, such as non-SBA-backed loans, which generally come with higher interest rates.
But Wiederhorn noted that every sector of business ー even the major players ー is experiencing negative side effects.
"It's affecting everybody, not just small business, but large business," he said. "It's really very difficult."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/fat-brands-inc-ceo-explains-how-the-government-shutdown-is-impacting-americas-small-businesses).
Vice President Mike Pence defended the Trump administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 210,000 Americans Wednesday night, while his Democratic challenger, Kamala Harris, condemned “the greatest failure of any presidential administration” during a largely civil debate dominated by the coronavirus.
A look at how claims from Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris stack up with the facts.
U.S. Surgeon General, Jerome Adams, joined Cheddar to discuss why he feels Americans should trust in a coronavirus vaccine once it clears the protocols.
Vice President Mike Pence and his Democratic challenger, California Sen. Kamala Harris, are set to face off in a debate that will offer starkly different visions for a country confronting escalating crises.
Despite close competition from other pressing issues, the economy is still the top concern for voters, according to a new Cheddar/SurveyUSA poll.
Democratic lawmakers are calling for Congress to rein in Big Tech, possibly forcing Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple to break up their businesses.
Former Vice President Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump by 10 points in the 2020 presidential race, according to a new Cheddar/SurveyUSA poll,.
President Donald Trump says he has instructed aides to stop negotiating on another round of COVID-19 relief until after the election.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned Tuesday that a tentative recovery from the pandemic recession could falter unless the federal government supplies additional economic support.
The Food and Drug Administration has laid out its safety standards for developers of COVID-19 vaccines after the White House blocked their formal release.
