For some small businesses, closing down is a better choice than opening up

“Social distancing really requires proprietors at restaurants to maintain a much smaller number of people than before,” said Hunter Stunzi, senior vice president of small business at LendingTree. “If you want to reopen, you’re looking at smaller revenues compared to a bustling restaurant.”

Nearly half of small-business owners worry they cannot afford to carry on with normal operations once state stay-at-home orders are lifted, according to a LendingTree survey of 1,260 small-business owners published in May. About 46 percent of small-business owners said funding is the primary challenge to reopening and that additional health and safety measures could further stifle sales.