The impact of a small business loan can be the difference between having to declare bankruptcy, and being able to successfully run two locations of your popular restaurant.
At least, that’s been the experience of Narry Ngamying, owner of Thonburi Thai Food.
Community Futures South Georgian Bay disbursed more than $1 million in small business loans in the 2022/23 year, according to their newly released annual report, and provided over 300 hours of business coaching assistance supporting 240 jobs.
Ngamying was one of the lucky recipients of such a loan, to the tune of $300,000, that helped keep her business afloat during difficult times. Now, she has a successful location in Wasaga Beach, with plans to open a second location in Collingwood before the end of this year.
“I have had help from friends, but it’s been small money. I could not have come up with that money. The funds I received, I’m tremendously thankful for that,” she said. “I would have gone bankrupt. I know that for a fact.”
“I am forever thankful.”
Ngamying came to Canada from Thailand in 1991, moving to Collingwood in 2003, which is when she started The Siamese Gecko.
“My family was all about food. We had a small restaurant business when I was brought up,” she said. “I got to play with food and be more creative in my own way.”
Ngamying says her degree in marketing wasn’t recognized in Canada when she immigrated, but she used to cook Thai food for friends all the time, which is what led to her idea to start the business. Her first restaurant venture was with a close friend, and for that venture she mostly ran the marketing and administration side. Eventually, Ngamying says that business dissolved when her partner no longer wanted to continue, but the experience was valuable.
“That was a turning point for me, to learn about the government (side). Before you get into a business you have to know the dos, don’ts, the needs and the rules. It got me to do my homework,” she said.
This led to Ngamying starting Thonburi Thai Food under The Siamese Gecko umbrella in Thornbury in 2012. Her family came from Thailand to live with Ngamying to get the business off the ground.
The restaurant’s name pays homage to her past in Thailand, as Thonburi is one of the 50 districts of Bangkok. On the west bank of Chao Phraya River, it was once part of Thon Buri province.
When an opportunity came up for Ngamying to move the business to a spot in Cranberry Mews on Keith Ave. in Collingwood this year, she jumped at the chance.
She was inspired to apply for the Community Futures loan following a conversation with a friendly TD Bank loan officer while she applied for a loan through the bank to get the Collingwood location open.
“She said that in the meantime, to go across the road to (Community Futures) because banks are nice, but not too nice,” said Ngamying with a laugh.
She went in and spoke with representatives at the centre, starting the application process.
“It was beautiful. They helped me do my business plan. They helped me apply for financing. I had everything in my head. They helped me put it into numbers in front of me,” said Ngamying.
This year, Community Futures South Georgian Bay is celebrating 37 years in operation. In that time, the non-profit has doled out loans to the tune of $14 million to small businesses, which is sponsored by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev). The organization offers loans, coaching and assistance to small business owners in the South Georgian Bay catchment area.
Ngamying applied for a $300,000 loan through Community Futures, and hoped for the best. When she received word in May of this year she had been approved, she was elated.
However, construction and approval delays on her Collingwood location led to her seeking options to help pay down more of her Collingwood location expenses as the months wore on without an opening date in sight.
In June, an opportunity came up for her to run the business out of a Wasaga Beach storefront to bring in some revenue while she waited to open in Collingwood. After explaining her plight to Community Futures, she says they allowed her to use $100,000 of her loan to do upgrades in Wasaga Beach so she could open there as a temporary spot.
“You know how they say that when all doors close, a window opens? This was that window,” said Ngamying.
The loan must be paid back with interest, but with the Wasaga Beach location proving to be so successful, Ngamying doesn’t think it will take long.
“It will be paid back in no time,” she said.
The Wasaga Beach location has been so successful, that Ngamying now intends to keep both locations. She hopes to open the Collingwood location before the end of 2023.
For more information on Community Futures South Georgian Bay, click here.
