ST. LOUIS – A multi-million dollar grant is hoping to help the city transform its local business socioeconomic status.
Lots of sites and sounds filled the streets of St. Louis on Wednesday. From walks down the street to visiting different venues, The Grove in Forest Park Southeast neighborhood was one of those spots, filled with locals.
“This is really about community,” said Dave Rosenthal, general manager at Grace Meat + Three.
Rosenthal said the past five years that the restaurant has sat on the corner of Tower Grove Avenue, they’ve helped the neighborhood transform.
“There were really just a lot of bars … these days there’s a lot of great restaurants that are down here in St Louis,” he said.
Thanks to the help of the city, some extra funding is helping 900 local businesses. According to senior vice president of the Neighborhood and Community Transformation, Lance Knuckles, this is a necessary step in the city’s growth.
“Every ward has had businesses that have been supported and funded,” Knuckles said.
The St. Louis Development Corporation raised and invested $4.5 million in nearly every neighborhood in the city.
“Small businesses are still struggling, supply chain issues are happening across the field of industries,” Knuckles said.
As one of 900 local places to pin down that grant, Grace’s is reaching towards new growth.
“We were able to support the restaurant, the team that we’ve managed to build here,” Rosenthal said.
He said this will only add to the evolving area, The Grove. Locals who live in the neighborhood said they are happy to hear of the city’s support.
“Local businesses are the beating heart of the city, ya know,” said Samal Bautista, a five-year resident of the Grove area.
Knuckles said it is only the start of their plans to extend local business support, with the help of an accelerator program, they’re hoping to raise $1 billion for local shops.
“I think our city is going to be much better on the other side of this,” Knuckles said.