$800 million in new state grants aim to help the smallest of small businesses

The owners of Station Plaza Coffee Shop & Diner in Mineola plan to investigate the state’s new $800 million COVID-19 relief grant program for small businesses after failing to secure a Nassau County restaurant grant.

Co-owner Peter Vatakis said Monday that he and George Arniotis didn’t qualify for county help because they haven’t owned the diner long enough. They purchased it in 2019 after working as cooks there.

"A grant will help keep us alive," Vatakis said, referring to the COVID-19 Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program. "We don’t qualify for a lot of the grants out there because we only purchased this place eight months before the pandemic."

The diner, across from the Long Island Rail Road station, hosted a news conference where state Sen. Anna Kaplan, chairwoman of the Senate Small Business Committee, outlined the grant program in the 2021-22 state budget that was adopted this month.

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Outside the Mineola diner, the senator was joined by her colleague, Sen. Kevin Thomas (D-Levittown), Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, Mineola Mayor Scott P. Strauss and leaders of chambers of commerce from throughout the county.