“When we were forced to close the shop, I reached out to Chase Venable at Paducah Bank and we got the process started to get our shop these PPP funds to keep operating,” recalls Renee Hayden, founder and owner of Craving the Curls on Market Square in Paducah. “We were early to the process, and Paducah Bank was still getting instructions from the SBA. So Chase helped me start the process immediately so that when the final paperwork was available, we were ready to send in the forms and we got our money promptly. I’ve used it for two payrolls already. It’s definitely working for us!”

    You may remember this popular shop in historic downtown as Curls & Cream, but the company wanted to franchise, so in late 2018 the store became Craving the Curls. “We wanted to expand the business into franchise locations and we ran into some trademark issues with our original name,” explains Renee. “Since we had to have a trademark to move forward with our next step in the franchise process, we had to change our name. We desperately wanted to keep the curls so we came up with Craving the Curls.” The company now has a second store in St. Charles, Missouri.

    The Paducah location has been offering their unique curled ice cream concoctions curbside on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They hope to expand the hours soon, gradually getting back to a full week of offerings. “We post our specials and updates to our Facebook Page (cravingthecurls) and to Instagram (cravingthecurlsrolledicecream),” adds Renee. “That’s the best way to keep up with any changes in days and times.”

    Renee and her family have been Paducah Bank clients for many years. “We have always done business with Paducah Bank. We have all our accounts there, our mortgage, and when we opened the store that was the first place we went to for financial assistance. They are truly great to work with. And Chase was super helpful with the SBA application process. We are so happy to have them as our financial partner.”