“It does raise questions about the equity of how the funds were distributed though,” she added, and “points to larger problems” with the program. Fan, a small business attorney and director of the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic at the University of Washington. “I don’t have all the facts in this case, but it does not appear that what the company did was improper,” said Jennifer S. Bigfoot Java is in the process of building another seven locations, according to its website. The coffee stands, open 24 hours, never closed during the pandemic, having been deemed “essential” and not having anywhere for customers to sit anyway.
A call to a number listed on the Trimark Student Housing website was answered, but the man on the other end deemed our inquiry “inappropriate.” The News Tribune visited the office in person, where a woman at the front desk directed us to email Jiwani and Whitmore. The company did not return repeated requests for comment via phone, including multiple voicemails, or email, sent to more than a dozen people listed on its various websites. Yet another LLC, Trimark Property Group, operates seven shopping plazas in Western Washington, whose tenants include Safeway, Jack in the Box, Starbucks, Hobby Lobby and Whistle Workwear. Several of those entities received their own $2.95 million in PPP funds. Visible from the street is a Bigfoot Java drive-thru coffee stand, a 76 gas station, Pit Stop Express convenience store and White Glove Car Wash - all of which are listed as brand names on the website for Trimark Petroleum Group, another arm of the Jiwani enterprise.
There a Bigfoot Java sign sits in the corner ground-floor window of the nondescript office building, a Subway and cigar shop next door. The company employs more than 500 people, an average of 16 employees per location, based on jobs reported in Small Business Administration data and information from former employees. An associated real estate and investment company, Bigfoot Properties and Bigfoot Investment Group, also received separate loans. Clockwise from left: 1920 112th St., Parkland 5921 6th Ave., Tacoma 406 Ellingson Road, Pacific and 10506 Sales Road, Tacoma.ĭrew chain of drive-thru coffee stands in Western Washington received $2.5 million from the Paycheck Protection Program, a prime example of how the pandemic relief bill intended for small businesses benefited companies with deeper pockets and better financial connections.īigfoot Java had more than 30 locations in seven Washington counties when the pandemic hit last spring, and each received an individual PPP loan, averaging $74,000. The Western Washington chain received more than $2.5 million from the Paycheck Protection Program. Business was steady recently at these four Big Foot Java drive-thru coffee stands.
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