IRVINE, Calif. — Spices are typically what people reach for when seasoning food, but for business owner Cyrus Safari, they sustain his livelihood.

What You Need To Know

  • Safari launched an online company called Saffronia several years ago, importing and selling over 70 types of spices and herbs
  • He found success early on, but when the pandemic hit, he lost over $700,000 worth of product
  • He eventually applied for the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan and Safari says he signed a loan agreement for almost $300,000 in April
  • In June, a group of 70 Congressional members sent a bipartisan letter to the agency, demanding accountability for the EIDL program after multiple complaints from applicants

He launched an online company in Irvine called Saffronia several years ago, importing and selling over 70 types of spices and herbs, including tarragon.

“In India, they add it to the curry. In Arab culture, they add it to the tea,” he said as he showed Spectrum News 1 large sacks of the herb in a warehouse.

Safari says there are health benefits, too. He found success early on, selling mostly to restaurants and reaching over $1 million in sales the first three years. But when the pandemic hit, he lost over $700,000 worth of product.

“It got expired because no place was open to sell it, the restaurants closed,” he said.

He eventually applied for the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan, a $1 trillion federal program to help owners recover from the pandemic. In April, Safari says he signed a loan agreement for almost $300,000 and bought inventory on credit. But after months, he still didn’t see the funds and says his business was suffering.

“So six, seven employees lost their job. I lost my other warehouse,” he said.

And then in November, Safari says the SBA told him he would no longer receive a loan because they ran out of funding.

“I got shocked, after seven months, you didn’t answer email, you didn’t answer the phone,” he said.

Safari says he was approved for the loan in April before the SBA shut down the EIDL program on May 6, after the program officially ran out of money.

Safari is not the only small business owner whose claims the SBA was inefficient, not providing clear answers on the status of loans in the EIDL program. In June, a group of 70 Congressional members sent a bipartisan letter to the agency, demanding accountability for the EIDL program after multiple complaints from applicants.

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U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., who Safari reached out to for help, signed the letter and told Spectrum News 1 in a statement that “our office’s casework operation helps constituents get answers from federal agencies, but it is not a substitute for additional robust government action. I’ve long demanded more transparency into how tax dollars were spent during the pandemic, including through the EIDL program. Taxpayers deserve answers about how and why some small businesses did not get the help they were supposed to under the law.”

The SBA told Spectrum News 1 it does not comment on specific loan cases, but SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman acknowledges the program couldn’t help everyone.

“We know that some were not able to access that relief, so we have positioned our district offices, all of our resource partners to help businesses to get affordable capital if that is what they need to sustain,” she said.

Safari says he’s still waiting for answers as he faces thousands of dollars of debt, with two kids and his wife to support.

“Unfortunately, its affected my business and my life,” he said.