Josh McQueary secures the sign for the Kokomo Farmers Market at its new location on the corner of Mulberry and Washington streets in this 2014 file staff photo by Tim Bath.
A new program is set to help local entrepreneurs open creative businesses inside vacant downtown locations as part of push to help the local economy during the pandemic.
The Greater Kokomo Downtown Association was awarded a $10,000 grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs to launch the program, which aims to support budding entrepreneurs and owners of empty storefronts.
The program will offer $500 grants to 10 entrepreneurs to rent empty downtown commercial properties to create pop-up shops to sell their products, demonstrate their skills and market their services.
The downtown area available to entrepreneurs is bordered by Monroe Street, Apperson Way, Washington Street and the Wildcat Creek, as well as Main and Union streets down to Markland Avenue.
Susan Alexander, manager of the Greater Kokomo Downtown Association who is spearheading the project, said the organization has spoken to a number of building owners in the area who are willing to offer their empty spaces at a reduced rate.
In the short term, entrepreneurs will have free access to a downtown property for up to 60 days to get their business going. Entrepreneurs who are successful in their market test could then pursue a long-term lease at the location, creating new partnerships between building owners and new entrepreneurs.
Alexander said if the businesses don’t work out, entrepreneurs can move on and try something different.
“They may learn this particular creative business idea is not viable and thus move on to one that could become a success,” she said in a release.
The program will also offer $500 grants to ten culinary entrepreneurs to utilize the commercial kitchen at the Kokomo Downtown Farmers Market, which will be completed later this year, to test their products and recipes.
The kitchen will provide a space that is certified by the health department and available for culinary entrepreneurs who don’t have their own kitchens or restaurants. Chefs can then sell their food in the market’s dining space.
Each grant will provide a culinary entrepreneur with 20 to 40 hours in the market’s kitchen.
Alexander said the grants will help lead to a more diversified, sustainable local economy by allowing more creative entrepreneurs to open businesses in the community.
“These grants make it so that the Downtown Association can continue to support the heart of the community and restore it to a place of thriving stability,” she said. “We’re continuing to build on the momentum we gained prior to the pandemic.”
The program should launch sometime in September.
The Downtown Association was also awarded $15,000 by OCRA to offset a portion of the organization’s salaries.
The money was provided by the state’s Taking Care of Main Street program, created to support recovery strategies related to the pandemic and its effects on local economies.
Indiana Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch said the program aims to lift up small businesses, which play a big role in communities recouping from economic setbacks caused by COVID-19.
“Investing in our small-business owners helps them work toward a sense of normalcy, and through this community-driven revitalization, we can help create a better quality of place for all Hoosiers,” she said in a release.
In total, 15 Indiana Main Street programs received grants through the Taking Care of Main Street program, totaling $205,000. Last year, the program awarded $5,000 each to 40 downtown organizations.
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