ST. LOUIS — Earlier this year, city and community leaders announced new financial incentives to lure retailers to open up shop in downtown St. Louis. 5 on Your Side is now hearing from one business that's taking advantage.
Organizers said as soon as word got out about the $350,000 in incentives, a couple of dozen business owners stepped up to the plate. Several are hoping to get a piece of the pie.
Ask just about anyone taking a stroll downtown, you'll likely hear much of the same.
"It would be nice to see parts of St. Louis downtown be revived,” said Kelsey Foshage, who is from the city but moved away.
That's what the folks at the St. Louis Development Corporation and Greater STL, Inc. are working to do.
"I just feel like we've got a lot of momentum right now,” Kurt Weigle of Greater STL said. As soon as they announced financial incentives to retain current downtown businesses and to attract new ones, he said they were met with a big response. "Within the first few weeks, we had over 30 responses."
Javia Gilliam-Sanford and her husband were among them. Many know them for their mobile bartending business, Pour Decisions. Now they're opening a brick and mortar location on Washington Avenue.
"No TVs back here. Just you and your bartender, like a bar was intended,” Gilliam-Sanford said while organizing her new space.
It will be called The Passport, a travel and vintage themed establishment with ties to home.
"You may know in St. Louis as kids we used to put our peppermints in our pickles. So you may see a dirty martini with a peppermint infused gin, a pickle brine… something that makes us feel like St. Louis, our part of St. Louis where we grew up,” she said with a smile.
The company is the first grant recipient to be announced, winning $15,000 to open up shop. Organizers said this is an ongoing effort and while some businesses are in the process of being awarded, others can still apply.
"People will come to these retailers, to these restaurants because that's why people go to cities in the first place,” Weigle said.
"Downtown's coming a live we really do want to be part of that heartbeat,” Gilliam-Sanford added.
The grant also helps businesses who are already downtown improve their facade with furniture or greenery upgrades.
To find the application, click here.