14 Woodbridge Businesses Will Receive Federal CARES Act Grants

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Fourteen small businesses in Woodbridge will receive federal CARES Act grant money to help them survive damage from the COVID shutdowns. The U.S. economy officially entered a recession in February.

The grants were announced Wednesday by Middlesex County, but the county declined to release the specific business names.

These are grants; the money does not need to be paid back. The grants are paid for using federal tax dollars from the CARES Act. They are officially called CARES Act Small-Business Relief Grants.

In total, 123 small businesses in Middlesex County will get this type of grant. The businesses include restaurants, hair and nail salons; retail shops; healthcare offices; manufacturing; construction; educational services; transportation companies and fitness studios.

The grants range from $410 to a maximum of $30,000, with an average grant payment of about $25,000.

The grant money was distributed to 123 Middlesex County businesses starting Wednesday.

This is money specifically meant to help small businesses: To be eligible, businesses had to employ fewer than 50 employees, have a net annual business income of less than $1,000,000 based on their 2019 federal tax return, and had to document business interruption as well as business losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has had many unintended consequences, including for our small-business communities," said Middlesex County Freeholder Ronald Rios. "Not only have they been asked to limit or halt operations, but as we begin to reopen our economy, these cash-strapped businesses have been asked to adapt their businesses accordingly, making it even more difficult to make ends meet."

Here are all 123 CARES Act Small-Business Relief grants given out in Middlesex County:

1. Carteret: 4 businesses
2. Cranbury: 1 business
3. Dunellen: 4 business
4. East Brunswick: 7 businesses
5. Edison: 20 businesses
6. Highland Park: 5 businesses
7. Jamesburg: 1 business
8. Metuchen: 11 businesses
9. Middlesex: 4 businesses
10. Milltown: 1 business
11. Monroe: 5 businesses
12. New Brunswick: 13 businesses
13. North Brunswick: 11 businesses
14. Old Bridge: 4 businesses
15. Perth Amboy: 5 businesses
16. Piscataway: 2 businesses
17. Sayreville: 2 businesses
18. South Amboy: 1 business
19. South Brunswick: 3 businesses
20. South Plainfield: 4 businesses
21. South River: 1 business
22. Woodbridge: 14 businesses

There is still grant money available. Visit: http://www.middlesexcountynj.gov/mcsbrg. The grants are administered by the Middlesex County Department of Finance.