DURHAM, N.C. — For the past decade, Bryan Kerwin and his brother, Patrick, have run Pete’s Garage in Durham while renting a space.

What You Need To Know

The N.C. Rural Center manages the State Small Business Credit Initiative

The Rural Center participates in loans to help small businesses

The Kerwin brothers were able to buy a location for their business, Pete's Garage, with their loan

Bryan Kerwin says they always wanted to own a building, but the opportunity didn’t come together until recently.

Just days ago, they moved into a property they own.

“It’s been a whirlwind. It still doesn’t feel like home. We’re still a little uncomfortable and stuff not in its permanent home, but it’s getting better,” Kerwin said. “Every day it’s getting better, and we’re fortunate that we hit the ground running. We’ve been really, really busy since we got here.”

The Kerwins didn’t make this move on their own.

Kerwin says they worked with South State Bank and were told about the State Small Business Credit Initiative.

The initiative is run by the N.C. Rural Center.

The N.C. Rural Center was allotted million of dollars from the U.S. Treasury Department to assist small business growth in the state.

The center purchases participations in loans, which can give lenders more security and allow business owners to qualify for loans they might not have been approved for.

Kerwin never knew this program existed.

“It freed up a bunch of money to allow us to move in and pay some people to move the lifts, stuff we needed to have professionally moved, and allowed us to spend some money straight away moving into the building,” Kerwin said.

The Rural Center received more than $200 million this year for this program and others, with the goal of helping others like the Kerwins.

“It gives us the asset of owning commercial property, the stability of owning business, not having to pay rent,” Kerwin said. “It's just positives all the way around.”