WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The founder of a Wilmington coffee shop visited the White House Tuesday, sharing her experience participating in a federal emergency small business loan program.

Like many businesses, Bitty and Beau’s was forced to shut down as a result of the coronavirus. The coffee shop chain has locations in Wilmington, Charleston, SC, Savannah, Ga. and Annapolis, Md.

The shops hire people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“We weren’t sure what was going to happen,” said Amy Wright, the chain’s founder, in an interview. “We made the decision to close our doors for health and safety reasons for our customers. That was before any federal mandates came out.”

Recently, Wright applied for and received loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), allowing her to put 120 employees back on the payroll, she said.

"For most of them, it's their first job ever, so when we had to temporarily lay them off, it was a really scary time,” she said. “When we were able to secure the PPP loans, bring them back on the payroll, and have them continue to get a paycheck, it meant the world to them."

"It’s really a game changer," she said.

Wright spoke about her experience at a White House event Tuesday afternoon, during which President Donald Trump touted the loan program.

“We’re processing loans at a pace never achieved before,” the president said.

Congress initially approved $350 billion for the PPP loans. Faced with high demand, that funding dried up within a matter of two weeks.

Before the first round of money ran out, nearly 40,000 PPP loans were approved for Tar Heel state small businesses, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

However, many more potentially eligible small businesses have not received help. For example, there are roughly 170,000 small businesses in North Carolina with between one and 499 employees - businesses that could potentially qualify for a PPP loan - according to 2016 data from the SBA.

Since its initial roll-out, the PPP loan program has come under scrutiny, with reports of banks prioritizing existing clients and publicly traded companies receiving aid.

“Most small businesses out there - most small employers - submitted applications, but the vast majority of them did not hear back, don’t know where their application is in the process,” said Brad Close, the president of the National Federation of Independent Business, in an interview on April 21. The NFIB advocates for small businesses.

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Congress recently approved more than $300 billion in additional funding for the PPP loan program, carving out a portion of that for smaller lenders and community banks that often work with smaller and minority-owned businesses.

To those businesses still waiting for help, Wright encouraged them to keep the faith.

“Hopefully these loans will come through for them, because small business is the backbone of America,” Wright said.