Coons and SBA Celebrate Grand Opening of SBA-Backed Restaurant – the First Zoup! Location in Del

U.S. Sen. Chris Coons and SBA Delaware Director John Fleming joined U.S. Sen. Tom Carper’s staffers, as well as Applied Bank and Delaware State Chamber of Commerce officials, at the grand opening of Delaware’s first Zoup! restaurant franchise location last week. By celebrating the entrepreneurial spirit driving this new SBA-backed business, the event spotlighted its economic impact on its community – the creation of 17 new Delaware jobs and counting – and the SBA financing available to Delaware small businesses.

“Small business is the lifeblood of the community, not just here in Delaware, but across America,” said Sen. Coons. “Our small businesses do more than sell us goods and services — they support and strengthen our communities. I congratulate

Eric and Zia on their passion, pride and boldness,

to take that leap to start this venture.”

“Zoup! is the kind of success story that proves what small businesses across Delaware can accomplish with the right mix of ingenuity and opportunity,” added Fleming. “Zoup!’s Delaware owners, Dia and Eric Ames, worked hard and they tapped into SBA-backed financing through Applied Bank to make their entrepreneurial dreams a reality. Today, the Ames’ restaurant is open for business, and they are certainly ‘paying it forward,’ creating new jobs right here in Delaware.”

Zoup!’s Delaware location opened with a $365,000 SBA-backed loan through Applied Bank.

Joining in lat week’s grand opening celebration were: U.S. Sen. Chris Coons; SBA Delaware Director John Fleming; Dia and Eric Ames, Owners, Zoup!; Bonnie Wu, U.S. Sen. Tom Carper’s New Castle County Director; Nate Edmunds, Vice President – Small Business Development, Applied Bank; Ken Evans, Delaware State Chamber of Commerce.

Zoup! features hundreds of award-winning soup recipes with 12 rotating daily varieties, including low-fat, vegetarian, dairy-free, low-points and spicy options. Zoup!’s Delaware location is 4175 Kirkwood Highway, Wilmington, DE 19808.

SBA is an independent federal agency, created in 1953, to assist small businesses start, grow, and prosper. The SBA provides financial assistance by: (1) making loans to help families and businesses recover from national disasters and (2) providing loan guarantees to commercial financial institutions for working capital (7a loans), buildings/land/equipment (504 loans through the Certified Development Corporations), and for exports. Through our resource partners, the SBA also offers a variety of business development programs and services such as training, government contracting and export assistance. SBA resource partners include Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, and SCORE (Counselors to America’s Small Businesses). For information on the SBA’s programs and services contact us at 302-573-6294 or www.sba.gov.

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