After being forced to close its doors and lay off employees due to the coronavirus pandemic, Steel City Coffeehouse in Phoenixville is now trying to find a way to stay afloat until things go back to normal, writes Jeff Blumenthal for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The owners of the establishment – Laura Vernola and Ed Simpson – have applied for the U.S. Small Business Administration Economic Injury Disaster Loan last week. But this is far from an ideal solution for the married couple, who already refinanced their home to build the recently added nano-brewery.

The pair bought the coffeehouse four years ago when the live music venue was planning to close. However, as the music was not bringing in a lot of money, they decided to add a nano-brewery that turned out to be a huge hit and improved their profitability significantly.

But with no end to the crisis in sight, the future of the establishment is now hanging by a thread.

“I’m scared that if I am closed for much longer, we won’t ever be able to reopen,” said Vernola.

Read more about the Steel City Coffeehouse in the Philadelphia Business Journal here.