. >> reporter: dinner time in lumberton, north carolina. >> everything good?staurant owner rod redfern. >> we did a million two in 2007, not bad for a small town and small restaurant. >> reporter: he has 30 employees, a crowded bar on weekends, a dependable banquet business. five years ago he turned a century-old mule stable into this. he's confident he's got the ingredients to open another restaurant, here, 35 miles north on i-95 in fayetteville. >> i'll hire 50 people in three months if i get the money. >> reporter: $150,000 to be exact. >> my issue is stimulus money that everybody is talking about needs to flow through to small businesses like this one. i don't want a bailout. i just want you to open the door. i'll walk through myself. >> reporter: so far that door is shut. we called bb & t banks the largest area lender and it turns out redfern's credit score doesn't match his confidence. a spokesperson for the bank who recently paid back its own bail out said we have turned him down based to his credit history. he admits to bumps in the road that dinged hi

. >> reporter: dinner time in lumberton, north carolina. restaurant owner rob redfern. >> we did $1.2 million in 2005. >> reporter: he's got 35 employees, a crowded bar on weekends, a dependable banquet business. five years ago he turned a century-old mule stable into this. he's confident he's got the ingredients to open another restaurant here, 35 miles north on i-95 in fayetteville. >> i'll hire 50 people in three months if i get the money i'm looking for. >> reporter: $150,000, to be exact. >> the stimulus money needs to throw through small businesses like this one. i don't need a bailout. just to open the door. >> reporter: so far that door is shut. we called bb&t bank, the area's biggest small business lender and asked why. turns out redfern's credit score doesn't match his confidence. a spokeswoman who recently paid back its own $3 billion bailout said we would have turned him down based on his credit history. redfern admits to bumps in the road that dinged his credit. this is the new world of lending. >> lenders have returned to the

. >> reporter: dinnertime in lumberton, north carolina. >> everything good? >> reporter: restaurant owner rob redfern. >> he did 1.2 million in 2005, not bad for a small town, small restaurant. >> reporter: he's got 35 employees, a crowded bar on weekends and a dependable banquet business. five years ago he turned a century-old mule stable into this. he's confident he's got the ingredients to open another restaurant here, 35 miles north on i-95 in fayetteville. >> i'll hire 50 people in three months if i get the money that i'm looking for. >> reporter: 150,000 to be exact. >> my issue is that stimulus money that everybody is talking about needs to flow through to small businesses like this one. i don't want a bailout. i just want, you know, to open the door. i'll walk through it myself. >> reporter: but so far this door is shut. we called bb & t bank, the area's biggest small business lender and asked them why. turns out redfern's credit score doesn't match his confidence. a spokeswoman for bb & t who recently paid back its own $3 billion bailout said we woul

christine romans, cnn, lumberton, north carolina. >> and watch for more "money & main street" reportsht 8:00 p.m. eastern here on cnn. >>> and we're just getting word that the sole man convicted in the lockerbie bombing of 1988 has arrived on libyan soil now. we've been talking about this since this morning. the 57-year-old man found guilty of this bombing is terminally ill with prostate cancer. as you know, there was a lot of controversy on whether he should be freed from jail or not. the judge did decide to release him on signs of compassion. that, of course, infuriated a lot of victims' families when his release was made public and they actually saw him for the first time walking out of jail free, as he is now, we are told, landed on libyan soil, his home where he will spend the rest of his life, as he is terminally ill with prostate cancer at the age of 57. >>> organizing for america, pushing for reform. minutes from now, president obama is going to talk health care with that group that got him elected and we will take it live. i would say convenience is something that the bank of

. >> reporter: dinnertime in lumberton, north carolina. >> everything good?t owner, rob redfern. >> we did $1.2 million in 2005. it's not bad for a small town and a small restaurant. >> reporter: he's got 35 employees, a crowded bar on weekends. a dependable banquette business. five years ago he turned a centuries-old mule stable into this. he's confident he's got the ingredients to open another restaurant, here, 35 miles north on i-95, in fayetteville. >> i'll hire 50 people in 3 months if i get the money that i'm looking for. >> reporter: $150,000 to be exact. >> my issue is that stimulus money that everybody's talking about needs to flow through to small businesses like this one. i don't want a bailout. i just want, you know, to open the door. i'll walk through it myself. >> reporter: but so far, that door is shut. we called bb&t bank, the area's small business lender and asked them why. it turns out redfern's credit score doesn't match his confidence. a spokesperson for bb&t who recently paid back its own $3 billion bailout, we would have turned him down

. >> dinner time in lumberton, north carolina. >> everything's good. >> reporter: restaurant owner rodyees, crowded bar on weekends, a dependable banquet business. five years ago he turned a century old mule stable into this. he's confident he's got the ingredients to open another restaurant, here. 35 miles north on i-95 in fayetteville. >> i'll hire 50 people in three months if i get the money i'm looking for. >> reporter: 150,000 to be exact. >> my issue is that stimulus money that everybody's talking about needs to flow through to small businesses like this one. i don't want a bailout, i just want to open the door. i'll walk through it myself. >> reporter: so far, that door is shut. we called bb & t bank, the area's biggest small business lender and asked them why. turns out, his credit score doesn't match his confidence. a spokeswoman for bb&t who recently paid back its own $3 billion bailout said we would've turned him down based on his credit history. he admits to bumps in the road that have dinged his credit. this is the new world of lending. >> return to the old-fashioned lendi