More than 150,000 people have signed a petition calling for Ruth's Chris Steakhouse to return $20 million in loans meant to help small businesses

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More than 150,000 people have signed a petition calling for Ruth's Chris Steakhouse to return $20 million in loans meant to help small businesses
More than 157,000 people have signed a petition calling for Ruth's Chris to return $20 million in loans. John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images
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More than 157,000 people have signed a petition calling for Ruth's Chris to return $20 million in loans from a program designed to help small businesses.

Two subsidiaries of Ruth's Hospitality Group were granted $10 million each in loans from JPMorgan Chase on April 7, as part of the paycheck protection program intended to support small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.

While the PPP loans were meant for small businesses, the restaurant and hotel industries successfully lobbied for an exception that allowed any company with less than 500 employees per location to apply for a loan.

Ruth's Chris, along with chains including Shake Shack and Potbelly, applied for PPP loans and received more than $90 million between seven chains in funding. Shack Shake returned its $10 million loan after backlash, but the other six chains have not yet done so.

"This is a travesty, and a disgusting display of corporate greed during a time of disaster," reads a Change.org petition. "Tell Ruth's Chris Steak House 'Return the money now! You will be shamed forever if you do not. People will not forget.'"

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"Demand that Ruth's Chris Steak House return the money that it, in effect, stole from actual small businesses across this great country," the petition continues.

As of Tuesday 2 p.m. ET, the petition has been signed more than 157,000 times. Ruth's Chris did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

How chains like Ruth's Chris got millions of dollars in loans

As a result of the restaurant-and-hotel loophole, any company that owns and operates restaurants could qualify for a PPP loan. Even McDonald's, the biggest fast-food chain in the US, would have technically qualified — though the company said it will not be applying for "assistance from any government entity."

Shake Shack's chairman, Danny Meyer, and CEO Randy Garutti said in a LinkedIn post that the PPP loans "came with no user manual and it was extremely confusing." They said that Shack Shack applied for a loan because they believed the loans to be the best chance at avoiding putting people out of work.

Backlash against chains that received PPP loans grew after the $350 billion allotted for the loans ran out in two weeks, before many small businesses received loans.

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Big banks were criticized for prioritizing companies with whom they had preexisting relationships and were asking for larger loans. For example, JPMorgan committed to giving Ruth's Chris a $41.7 million loan on March 30, before granting two subsidiaries of the steakhouse $10 million each on April 7.

Small business owners sued Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo on Sunday, claiming that the banks favored companies seeking larger PPP loans. (The banks denied the allegations.)

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