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PHOTOS: Biden visits oldest hardware store in DC

Glynis Kazanjian | gkazanjian@wtop.com

March 9, 2021, 6:10 PM

President Joe Biden stepped into D.C.’s oldest hardware store Tuesday to talk about a change he made to the Paycheck Protection Program to benefit small businesses.

The W.S. Jenks & Son hardware store in Northeast D.C. is a recipient of the PPP program.

Besides being the oldest hardware store in D.C., owner Michael Siegel said it’s also “the greenest hardware store in America.”

Siegel was accompanied by his retail neighbor Mary Ackley, owner of Little Wild Things, an urban farm specializing in microgreens and edible flowers.

Biden’s visit came after his administration announced Feb. 24 that for two weeks the Small Business Administration would only accept applications for the forgivable loan program from businesses with 20 or fewer employees.

Biden said during his visit that during the Trump administration, large businesses that shouldn’t have qualified for the program pushed out smaller businesses.

“We found out that an awful lot of that went to bigger businesses that weren’t supposed to qualify,” Biden said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

<p>US President Joe Biden (C) visits W.S. Jenks &amp; Son, a hardware store that has benefited from a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, in Washington, DC, on March 9, 2021. — Biden met with Michael Siegel (R), co-owner of W.S. Jenks &amp; Son, and Mary Anna Ackley (L), owner of Little Wild Things Farm, a business next door to Jenks &amp; Son which also benefited from the PPP.</p> 1/6
(Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

US President Joe Biden (C) visits W.S. Jenks & Son, a hardware store that has benefited from a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, in Washington, DC, on March 9, 2021. — Biden met with Michael Siegel (R), co-owner of W.S. Jenks & Son, and Mary Anna Ackley (L), owner of Little Wild Things Farm, a business next door to Jenks & Son which also benefited from the PPP.

<p>US President Joe Biden (L) visits W.S. Jenks &amp; Son, a hardware store that has benefited from a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, in Washington, DC, on March 9, 2021. — Biden met with Michael Siegel (R), co-owner of W.S. Jenks &amp; Son, and Mary Anna Ackley, owner of Little Wild Things Farm, a business next door to Jenks &amp; Son which also benefited from the PPP.</p> 2/6
(Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

US President Joe Biden (L) visits W.S. Jenks & Son, a hardware store that has benefited from a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, in Washington, DC, on March 9, 2021. — Biden met with Michael Siegel (R), co-owner of W.S. Jenks & Son, and Mary Anna Ackley, owner of Little Wild Things Farm, a business next door to Jenks & Son which also benefited from the PPP.

<p>US President Joe Biden (L) speaks with Michael Siegel (R), co-owner of W.S. Jenks &amp; Son, a hardware store that has benefited from a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, in Washington, DC, on March 9, 2021.</p> 3/6
(Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

US President Joe Biden (L) speaks with Michael Siegel (R), co-owner of W.S. Jenks & Son, a hardware store that has benefited from a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, in Washington, DC, on March 9, 2021.

<p>US President Joe Biden stands with Mary Anna Ackley (L), owner of Little Wild Things Farm, a business next door to Jenks &amp; Son, both benefiting from the PPP loan, as he visits inside W.S. Jenks &amp; Son, a hardware store in Washington, DC, on March 9, 2021.</p> 4/6
(Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

US President Joe Biden stands with Mary Anna Ackley (L), owner of Little Wild Things Farm, a business next door to Jenks & Son, both benefiting from the PPP loan, as he visits inside W.S. Jenks & Son, a hardware store in Washington, DC, on March 9, 2021.

<p>President Joe Biden speaks with Mary Anna Ackley, Owner of Little Wild Things Farm, left, and Michael Siegel, Co-owner of W.S. Jenks &amp; Son, right, during a visit at W.S. Jenks &amp; Son hardware store, a small business that received a Paycheck Protection Program loan, Tuesday, March 9, 2021, in Washington.</p> 5/6
(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

President Joe Biden speaks with Mary Anna Ackley, Owner of Little Wild Things Farm, left, and Michael Siegel, Co-owner of W.S. Jenks & Son, right, during a visit at W.S. Jenks & Son hardware store, a small business that received a Paycheck Protection Program loan, Tuesday, March 9, 2021, in Washington.

Joe Biden 6/6
(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

President Joe Biden visits W.S. Jenks & Son hardware store, a small business that received a Paycheck Protection Program loan, Tuesday, March 9, 2021, in Washington.

Glynis Kazanjian

Glynis Kazanjian has been a freelance writer covering Maryland politics and government on the local, state and federal levels for the last 11 years. Her work is published in Maryland Matters, the Baltimore Post Examiner, Bethesda Beat and Md. Reporter. She has also worked as a true crime researcher.

gkazanjian@wtop.com

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