Within the last few days, the City of Independence has disbursed a total of $355,000 to locally owned brick-and-mortar businesses as part of an emergency relief grant program designed to offset losses incurred during the COVID-19 crisis.
The following 71 recipients each received funding: American Soda Fountain; Ane Mae’s Coffee & Sandwich Shop; Ane Mae’s Gifts & Goodies; Apricot Lane Boutique; Ashcraft Tire Co.; Big Cheese Pizza; Bill Schabel’s TV; Brother’s Railroad Inn; Cantrell’s Fine Jewelry; Carla’s Simple Gifts & Floral; Casey’s Creations; Christian Karate Academy; Creative Concepts; Dairy Queen; Daylight Donuts; Dickey’s Barbecue Pit; Down Home; Fastlane Collision & Customs; Fastlane Performance Group; Fleas An Tiques; Gramps Tavern; Grass Roots Design Group; Hager’s Market; Hallett’s Liquor; Hasselmann’s Floral & Gifts; Heckman Family Dental; Hock or Shop; Independence Cinemas; Independence Seafood; Indy Barber Studio/Younique; Indy Brew Works; Indy Nutrition; Indy Vapes; Jiffy Mart; Laurel Creek Flea Market & Crafts; Laurel Street Bakery; Lee’s Cooling & Heating Co.; Libby’s Boutique; LUXX Beauty Lounge; Magnolia Scents by Design; Mariachi Grill; Maria’s; Messenger Furniture; Mikie’s C-Store; Newton’s True Value; Null Chiropractic; One-Stop Vape Shop; Penn Avenue Styles; Reflections Salon & Spa; R&S Dance Studio; Saturday With My Sister; Sawyer’s Fine Wine & Spirits; Sayers Ace Hardware; Scrub Works; Sears Hometown Store; Shanghai Garden; Singleton Community Clothes Closet; Sound Ideas!; Stoney’s Grub & Pub; Studio4; Taco Inn; Tans by Electric Beach; Taylor Newspapers; The Barber Shop; The Cut Above; Tropical Tan; Turbos Bar & Grill; Twig’s Floral; Uncle Jack’s Bar & Grill; Uptown Tans; Whistler Glass.
“We recognize the tremendous toll this crisis has taken on our local small businesses,” said Interim City Manager Kelly Passauer. “I applaud the vision of our Independence City Commission and the Economic Development Advisory Board in developing this solution to help soften the blow.
“I also owe a huge thank-you to Finance Director Lacey Lies for her tremendous work to administer this program and process the grants with a very quick turnaround.”
The funds were drawn from the city’s inactive Incubator Fund, and recipients were identified through an application process. In addition to the brick-and-mortar and locally owned criteria, eligibility also required holding a current city business license; being open and operational at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic; being negatively impacted by the pandemic; and, if for businesses with discontinued services or temporarily closed, reopening within 60 days after the lifting of the governor’s orders restricting residents and businesses.