AKRON, Ohio — Small businesses in Akron are getting a boost from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act money.
A day ahead of Thanksgiving, Mayor Dan Horrigan announced in a release the city would equally divide $1 million between 100 mostly women- or minority-owned small businesses to help alleviate the ongoing, negative effects of the pandemic.
Of the businesses, 43 are minority-owned and 40 are women-owned, the city said. A complete list of grantees is available online.
Akron-area bars, restaurants and entertainment venues are among those receiving $10,000 grants. Health-care companies, car-repair shops, barbershops and construction companies are also among businesses to receive funds, the city said.
To be eligible for the money, businesses had to meet a set of requirements, including the ability to describe the impact the pandemic had on the business or how supply chain problems have increased costs.
Businesses also had to be for-profit and in operation before the beginning of 2020. They were required to have two to 50 workers on payroll and be current on income- and property-tax obligations, the city said. Requirements are also in place detailing how the money can be used.
The mayor acknowledged the hardships small businesses have endured as they’ve struggled to survive the pandemic.
"I'm proud to be able to invest into these businesses with our ARPA dollars and help them bounce back from the impacts of the pandemic,” Horrigan said.
According to a recent national survey of more than 1,000 small business owners, many are looking ahead with plans to grow their businesses, but in the meantime, are exhausted. Nearly half, 47%, indicated they feel run down and drained of physical or emotional energy.
With businesses owners “acutely feeling the impact of COVID-19 on their mental well-being,” rising inflation, staffing challenges and the Omicron surge are also taking a toll, the survey found.
“Maintaining a small family business downtown after the pandemic sometimes feels like being a captain of a slowly sinking ship,” said Hannah Hamad of Hamad’s on Main, a family-run eatery.
Hamad said she is grateful for the relief funds and plans to pay off some of the debt that accrued trying to keep the business running. The money also will help alleviate stress, as her son, Jon, recently underwent heart surgery, she said.
“It feels good to know our city is here for us,” she said.
Nicole Woodford-Shell of Yoga Squared said the company is honored to receive the funds.
“The pandemic created new challenges for the already difficult small business sphere, and the support we’ve received from the city of Akron has been instrumental in our ability to keep moving forward,” she said.
Akron Honey Company owner Brent Wesley said the grant money will enable him to purchase equipment the company needs to grow.