Akron awards $1M in American Rescue Plan Act funds to 100 local businesses: See the list

Some 100 small businesses in Akron will receive one-time, $10,000 grants to help offset costs and negative impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city announced Wednesday.

Funding for the grants is provided by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars the city has received. Businesses selected to receive the grants include bars and restaurants, healthcare, auto repair, barbershops, entertainment venues and construction companies. Of the businesses receiving grants, 43 are minority-owned businesses, and 40 are women-owned, according to the city.

“We hear stories every day of how our small businesses stepped up through the height of the pandemic to take care of their customers, their employees and their communities,” said Catey Breck, Director of Strategic Development, in a news release. “These grants are our way of mitigating the fallout they experienced from COVID-19 and putting these once-in-a-generation funds back into the community. We’re excited to support our small businesses in this way.”

To qualify for the grants, businesses had to meet several requirements,  including having between 2-50 workers on payroll; be up-to-date on income and property taxes; be in operation in the city before Jan. 1, 2020 and describe how the businesses has suffered due to decreased business activity or supply-chain issues related to the pandemic or related public health restrictions and orders.

Funds can be used to pay business rent or mortgage costs, payroll and benefits, utilities, or investments to meet reopening guidelines such as personal protective equipment and remote access equipment.

Yoga Squared owner Nicole Woodford-Shell was one of the qualifying businesses selected to receive a $10,000 grant.

“We are so honored and grateful to receive this grant from the city we call home,” Woodford-Shell said in the release. “The pandemic created new challenges for the already difficult small business sphere, and the support we’ve received from the City of Akron has been instrumental in our ability to keep moving forward. We have dedicated our lives to providing services that support the well-being of our neighbors and we’re thankful to be surrounded by folks who recognize our value and have our backs.”

Here’s the list of Akron businesses that received ARPA-funded grants:

• 2 Live Music
• A & B Tent Rental Inc.
• A and A Vending, Inc.
• A to Z Auto and Truck Repair
• Akron Family Business
• Akron Honey Company LTD
• Akron Legends Barbershop
• Akron-Canton International Forwarding
• Allegiance Insurance Group LLC
• American Family Insurance
• American Medical Transport
• Angels on Earth Health Care Services
• Arlington Street Muffler LLC
• Backup Power Solutions, Inc.
• Barley House
• Barmacy
• Baxters LLC
• Beyond Expectations Barber College
• Blue Leaf Apothecary LLC
• Caring Angels Healthcare LLC
• Clarktel/Tele-communications, Inc.
• CNJ Renovations LLC
• Coast to Coast Caulking & Waterproofing LLC
• Design Perspective LLC
• Diamond Daleesa Accessories
• Diamond Grille
• Dot Org Solutions LLC
• Duo Tax Services LLP
• Eddies Famous Cheesesteaks
• Eighty-Three Brewery
• El Papa’s Mexican Bistro
• Emidio & Sons
• Farmer Boy Restaurant
• FG Solutions LLC
• First Glance Imaging, Inc.
• Full Service Logistics, LLC
• Gear Star American Performance Transmissions, Inc.
• Good Life Body Piercing and Fine Jewelry
• Great Lakes Premier Distribution
• Green Light Auto Sales
• Hamad’s on Main
• In A Minute Ltd.
• Inda Blatch-Geib
• Jilly’s Music Room LLC
• Kane Investments LLC
• Kids Academy 2
• Kleen in Motion LLC
• L & H Home Care
• Laplace Events, LLC
• Loving Hearts Helping Hands
• M&L Equipment Company
• Marques
• Mason Construction and Concrete LLC
• Mint Hair Collective LLC
• Mr Dans Daycare LLC
• Nando’s auto care LLC
• Nomz, LLC
• Orleans Avenue Entertainment Corp.
• Paolucci Law, LLC
• Polymet Recovery, LLC
• Pritt Entertainment Group, LLC
• R&S Cleaning Solutions
• Rasheed F. Nemer, M.D.
• Red Point Digital, LLC
• Rosas Playhouse Inc.
• Rot Sorn
• Rubber City Clothing
• S3 Technologies, LLC
• S4 Mobile Laboratories LLC
• Scanlon & Elliott
• Shifrin Newman Smith Inc.
• Slaughter Tire Service Inc.
• South Akron Awning Co.
• Sparks Investment Inc.
• SpeedPro Akron North
• Square Nightclub
• Subway
• Summit County Classics Inc.
• Summit Tax & Insurance Services
• Sweet Modern LLC
• T.R. Fields & Associates, Inc.
• Tear-Ez
• Technology Management Solutions, Inc.
• The Akron Plating Co., Inc.
• The Brat Boulevard Corporation
• The Culinary Chameleon
• The Growing Patch LLC
• The Hatterie Inc.
• The Score Draft Room
• Transit Transportation Services, LLC
• Twisted Tomato
• Uncle Bacon’s BBQ LLC
• Vigeo Gardens
• Westside Masonry, LLC
• White Glove Cleaning Solutions LLC
• Wilkinson Funeral Home
• Words by Mom
• Yoga Squared
• Your Virtual Solution
• Zeber-Martell Studio, Inc.

“Akron’s small businesses have endured so much over the past several years to keep their doors open and to continue serving this community,” Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan said in the release. “I’m proud to be able to invest into these businesses with our ARPA dollars and help them bounce back from the impacts of the pandemic.”