Oklahoma City restaurant owners are being offered an opportunity to combine individualized help from industry experts, customized business advice, planning and more through a local nonprofit helping the city leverage American Rescue Plan Act funding.
In Oklahoma City, the Alliance for Economic Development has long been a champion of local businesses. She helps the city administer various public incentives and connect entrepreneurs with programs to maximize the benefits available to them. The alliance also emphasizes connecting minority entrepreneurs with financing to bridge gaps for those historically left out of these conversations.
As the deadline for mandating ARPA funding looms – projects must be earmarked by Dec. 31, 2024 – cities, counties and states, often with the help of nonprofits, are working overtime to ensure funds reach those who qualify.
When the city received more than $100 million in ARPA funding, it again turned to the alliance for help managing the process.
“The alliance has contracted to manage a portion of the city’s ARPA allocation. In total, it is about $20 million of the $122 million, just a portion of it,” said Joseph Laws, program manager of the Alliance. “They tasked us with supporting small businesses and doing some workforce development programs.”
More: California roots produce Oklahoma wines at Backyard Vineyard’s in OKC
ARPA financing is currently available to food businesses in Oklahoma City
Three years after beginning the distribution of ARPA funds, the alliance has achieved success in helping small businesses across industries with diverse needs.
As funding is still available and after examining the current challenges facing businesses and the state of the economy, the alliance has launched two programmes specifically targeting food businesses.
“It’s become a lot harder for restaurants to operate and we’ve always found that historically it’s been a difficult industry to operate in, with low profit margins and things like that,” Laws said. “So we decided to use some of the funds we set aside in 2022 to fund programs that specifically help restaurants.”
The Real Deal is a six-month executive growth program for which the alliance has created a dedicated food and beverage tract as an offshoot of an already established initiative. This option is specifically designed for brick-and-mortar establishments, including restaurants, breweries, coffee shops, bars and other establishments where food and beverage is consumed on-site.
The program gives business owners access to a network of experts and resources to help them maximize their business potential, solve problems and develop long-term plans. The cost of the program is covered by ARPA funds and participants who complete the program are eligible for grants of up to $15,000.
“They meet with different business experts and go through different training. They create a playbook and that helps them look at their plan and come up with a strategy and see where there are gaps, where they have challenges, and then they try to do that. ” come up with strategies to address these challenges,” said Daisy Muñoz, project manager at the Alliance.
The second program, The OKC Food Truck Business Accelerator, is a 10-week, hands-on opportunity for food trucks and carts. Those selected to participate in the program will receive training and support tailored to their business needs from Synergy Restaurant Consultants, while also building a network of like-minded entrepreneurs. Participants who complete the program will be eligible to apply for a grant of up to $8,000.
After completing one of the programs and receiving a grant, Muñoz said funding options are somewhat limited because it involves federal funding. However, companies do have flexibility and support in determining the best way to spend the money.
“They can cover all operational costs such as rent, mortgage, utility bills, permits, insurance — anything that seems like recurring costs — the grant can cover salaries, benefits and any consultancy you need such as marketing, accounting, legal ,” Muñoz said. “We really try to set them up for success when they receive these grants.”
How can companies qualify for the alliance’s ARPA programs?
Applications for the OKC Food Truck Business Accelerator and Real Deal programs are now open and limited to 20 participants each on a first-come, first-served basis, with application deadlines on July 14 and 15.
To qualify, businesses must be located in Oklahoma City, have been in business before March 2021, and meet one of the following criteria:
-
have a minority interest of 51% or more
-
be located in a qualified census tract (largely low income)
-
or be able to demonstrate the financial impact of COVID.
Business owners interested in learning more about the programs or registering can go online to www.theallianceokc.org.
Laws encourages anyone eligible to apply to participate in the programs while ARPA funding is available.
“Ultimately in a few years these programs won’t exist anymore,” Laws said. “We are trying to make a meaningful intervention right now, now that we have these funds.”
Other local restaurants have found success with alliance programs
The alliance’s programs have a track record of success and have benefited several well-known OKC restaurants even before the launch of these latest initiatives.
The Real Deal has been helping food businesses since before it launched a specific cohort for those owners, including businesses like Madhopper Brewing, 923 W Britton Road, and Zero Tolerance Coffee, 919 W Britton Road.
Café Kacao, 3325 N Classen Blvd., and Geronimo’s Bakery & Burgers, 1817 N Martin Luther King Ave., both participated in the organization’s Storefront Improvement Program, which helped business owners revitalize their buildings’ exteriors and signage to blow.
“If you go [to Geronimo’s Bakery] Today it looks very different than a few years ago, so we were able to help him redo his entire facade. It has a sign on it that clearly states he makes burgers and not just baked goods,” Laws said. “It’s brand new on the outside. New windows, new doors, everything.”
Betty’s, 3604 N May Ave., participated in the alliance’s Oklahoma Minority Founders Association program, another ARPA-funded initiative. Additional ARPA initiatives like the StitchCrew program have helped grow businesses like the Drunk Goat food truck; Tizo’s Pops & Ice Cream, 5125 S Western Ave.; and QueBella Bakery, 617 W Sheridan Ave.
More: Disgusted by bland food, 19-year-old baker turned her allergy into a dream career
Jabee Williams, owner of Eastside Pizza, 1734 NE 23, also participated in one of the programs offered by the alliance.
“The reason we did it was because we needed strategic planning for Eastside, because we were going through such a tough time and we just needed some energy, new ideas, things we could do differently,” Williams said. “We met multiple times, we got a good strategic plan, and we set a timeline of how we wanted to do it, and where we wanted to start, and things we wanted to see. We were able to implement some of those things, and we had a good outcome with it.”
Williams said other entrepreneurs and small business owners should take the time to review the alliance’s programs and fill out the applications.
“You can always use help. The people who know everything, they don’t know everything,” Williams said. “For us it was just an opportunity to get help. We knew we needed it and we were able to come up with some great ideas. But I would say, it’s always good to get help, to get help when someone that offers.” because it’s hard for small businesses here.”
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Local nonprofit has remaining ARPA funding for OKC food businesses
