SUBMITTED BY KAY MACINTOSH | MAIN STREET HISTORIC CHESTERTOWN
Main Street Historic Chestertown has announced the re-granting of $157,600 in Maryland Strong Economic Recovery Initiative (SERI) funding to 29 downtown businesses in grant amounts ranging from $1,000 to $9,500.
Criteria for grant awards and amounts included the effect of COVID restrictions on an applicant’s business, the number of employees and hours of operation, and its overall impact on how residents and visitors experience downtown.
The Recovery Grants Panel that worked with Main Street Executive Director Kay MacIntosh to process applications included Main Street Board of Directors members Carolyn Spencer Brown, Anne Forrest and Mike Smith, and three business mentors from the area chapter of SCORE – Tim Abeska, Zane Carter and Jeff Grotsky.
Main Street Chestertown’s SERI grant from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development also includes $25,000 for the organization to use to market downtown as a destination.
The State allocated a total of $7 million in relief awards to support small business recovery efforts in the 41 Main Street communities across Maryland. All of the state’s 33 designated Main Street Maryland communities and Baltimore City’s eight designated Main Street neighborhoods applied for and received awards to support their operating and capital grants to businesses in their districts. A full list of awardees is available here.
In Chestertown, every applicant was awarded a grant. Those recipients include Bad Al’s, Bee Crafty, The Kitchen at the Imperial, Evergrain Bread Company, Mimi’s Closet, Village House, Massoni Gallery, Robert Ortiz Studios, Empty Hangers, Sarah Paige Salon, Casa Carmen, Spa Angels, Tiny Tots, Zelda’s, Linda Roy Walls Photographs and Memories, Houston’s Dockside Emporium, Allied Shore Solutions, The Finishing Touch, Coco’s Pet Boutique, Music Life, Physically Fitch, 98 Cannon Riverside Grille, Big Mixx’s Beautiful Beginnings, Walnut & Wool, The Retriever, K&L Auto Services, Figg’s Ordinary, Les Poissons Gallery, and Riverside Unique.
Main Street Historic Chestertown is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit whose mission is to foster an inviting, diverse and prosperous downtown. Its goals include increasing the number and variety of successful downtown businesses, supporting a diverse range of activities that attract both residents and visitors to downtown, enhancing downtown’s streetscapes, and encouraging an increase in the number of downtown residents. Learn more at mainstreetchestertown.org. For more information about the State's Main Street Maryland program, visit mainstreetmaryland.org.
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