Grant Awards - Winter 2009 Cycle

The Merchants Fund opened offices in the summer of 2007 in downtown Philadelphia after a twenty-five year hiatus outside the City. The board has outlined an ambitious grant-making program to support small businesses in Philadelphia.

Lee's Card & Gift Shop ($10,000)
The owner applied to install new windows, doors, an awning and security grates.  This is a double property. Working closely with the corridor manager for the Mt. Airy Revitalization Corporation plans to revitalize the shop include adding lay away, having daily promotions, offering silk flower arrangements, turning over aged stock with a “sale corner”, etc.  The renewal of the exterior is a major piece of this plan for renovation and renewal.

Night Kitchen Bakery ($5,000)
http://www.nightkitchenbakery.com/
The grant is a match toward the purchase of new energy efficient cold cases to replace old cases which are beyond repair.  A mainstay of the Chestnut Hill Community this bakery has been in operation for 25 years and the current owner has owned it for 8 years.  The business is run by a husband and wife team.

Gary P. Mann Design ($10,000)
http://garymannjewelry.com/index.php
The husband and wife owners are undertaking an ambitious program to renew and improve their business:  improve the façade (awning, paint, sign, lighting), overhaul the web site and branding strategies.  Gary Mann, a 10th generation jeweler, crafts exquisite and unique jewelry featuring precious and semi precious gems. For 20 years they have made a reasonable living and they are committed to staying open through the recent economic downturn. The price of gold has been escalating as the economy gets worse.  As an aggressive response to the downturn they run "gold parties and events" to induce people to clean out jewelry boxes of unwanted and broken pieces.  

Hong Paek’s True Value Home Center ($10,000)
The owner plans to upgrade and refresh the exterior appearance of his business: reconfigure the first and second floor facades including new windows, doors, stucco, painting, remove old security gates, lighting, etc.   This is a valuable business in a low resource neighborhood.  Step back in time and visit this owner-operated hardware store which sells everything from nails to bikes.  The owner has been on Point Breeze Avenue for almost 20 years. The Philadelphia Design Collaborative has a produce a handsome scheme for the project.

Avenue Framing and Art ($8,800)
The current owner worked for the two founders of the company for 15 years before purchasing the business.  The framing store occupies 800 square feet of workspace, storage and display.  The framing equipment she uses dates back to the founding of the shop.  Replacing key equipment should generate additional income, savings and efficiency.  

Hummingbird Restaurant ($10,000)
The owner plans to refurbish the façade of this twenty year old business.  Earl Grant has a loyal following for his Caribbean take out.  This is one more example of the ambitious plan of The Mt. Airy Revitalization Corp to spruce up the businesses on Wadsworth Avenue to attract new customers and retain a loyal core.

Coeur ($5,000)
http://coeurlingerie.com/  
The owner plans to add inventory for full figured women at this elegant lingerie store based on customer demand.  Luxury goods are negatively impacted by the lagging  economy but this smart owner always looks for possibilities to create new opportunities.  She is known for her exemplary customer service and attention to detail.  

Spike’s Trophies ($10,000)
http://gospikes.com 
The Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center (DVIRC) is providing the technical support for ongoing reorganization and restructuring into Kaizen cells and the move toward a lean manufacturing operation.  Spike's has been making trophies and awards since 1929. The lead owner (48%) has been with Spike’s since high school. He and 5 other employees purchased the company from the family just before bankruptcy 5 years ago.  They have a stable and committed workforce of 45 employees, three retail stores and a manufacturing space in the Spring Garden section of the city.

Metro Mattress Factory ($10,000)
This minority owned company was plagued by a series of fires at their old location and has just moved to the Frankford Arsenal (2008).   The co-owners hire post incarcerated workers. Recently certified as minority owned business they hope to capture a virtual monopoly for state and federal contracts as the only minority-owned business in the area.  They are working with the Urban Industry Initiative for technical support.  The grants will be used to purchase an industrial sewing machine to streamline production of institutional bedding.   

Ricochet Manufacturing ($10,000)
http://www.ricochet-gear.com/
The lead product is emergency responder gear.  The product is known for high quality and the extra weather seal which is applied to all seams. The first, and most highly functioning, cell has been restructured and they are re-training long time employees to work as a team. There are three more cells to restructure.  The current owner came to the business after working with the past owner on behalf of The Reinvestment Fund to relocate a family-owned Massachusetts-based company to Philadelphia. TRF is a biased and devoted fan of Ricochet.       

Crane Arts ($10,000)
http://www.cranearts.com/
Crane Arts purchased an undeveloped piece of property from the RDA with a loan from The Reinvestment Fund to develop a parking lot across from the existing artist studios and galleries.  The grant will go toward building the parking lot. There is one majority owner and two minority owners who are art professors at Tyler.  Crane is located at the gateway of the North American Street Opportunity Zone and it has been the catalyst for several new businesses moving to this industrial corridor.  The carriage house is occupied by the artifact preservation group of John Millner Associates, a world-renowned historic preservation firm.  The recently completed ice house functions as a gallery and a rentable space for anything from exhibitions to Bar Mitzvahs. The parking lot can also function as public outdoor space for events and neighborhood gatherings and will feature sculpture installations and ecologically sensitive semi-permeable paving.