By Allison Perrine
MIDDLETOWN – The township is giving back to many of its local small businesses that have supported its schools and community through the years with donations of up to $15,000 each.
The grants are possible through the Middletown Economic Relief Program (MERP) established in October to help businesses with under 50 employees amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Mayor Tony Perry, a “massive” percentage of Middletown-based businesses are small businesses and that stands for an estimated 90 percent of the county as well.
“Small businesses have been there for our sports teams; small businesses have been there for our communities – some of them for decades now,” Perry told The Two River Times. “Our local economy is so critical to Middletown, to the success of Middletown…and I’m going to do everything I can to ensure that whatever curve balls come our way, whether it’s COVID or the next thing, that our small businesses are going to be taken care of.”
The township has received about $500,000 in funding for the program through the federal CARES Act. The funds have been provided from the Department of Housing and Urban Development via the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-CV) Program, according to the township. From there, officials designed the program which gives Middletown-based small businesses the opportunity to apply for up to $15,000 in grants.
As of Tuesday, Feb. 16, the township had awarded checks to 29 local businesses, 26 of which received the full ask of $15,000. The remaining three requested $12,000, $10,500 and $10,000. The grand total currently stands at $422,500. Eight of those businesses received ceremonial checks Feb. 9 including All Natural Dry Cleaners, Code Ninjas, Greens & Grains, Middletown Pancake House, Monmouth Museum, No Limits Cafe, Rock’n Music Academy and Zeek’s Tees.
Stadi Sinclair, owner of Code Ninjas in the Union Square Shopping Center in Middletown, said like many others, Code Ninjas is still recovering from the impacts of the 2020 shutdowns and capacity restrictions due to the pandemic. “Having lost over 60 percent of our customers, the MERP grant will provide a financial safety net that will us allow us to pay staff and operational costs while we rebuild and regain students,” he said in a press release.
Kitsa Mavrode, owner of the Middletown Pancake House, said she intends to use the MERP funds to continue hiring local residents, extend table spacing and create an outdoor tent with tables for patrons to utilize once the weather gets warmer. “Diners who don’t yet feel comfortable with inside dining are not venturing out to restaurants, yet our bills and expenses remain unchanged from pre-COVID levels,” she said in the release.
Monmouth Museum in Lincroft is also one of the recipients of the grant. Executive director Erika Hellstrom said Perry and the township committee “are so deeply committed to this community and understand the critical needs of nonprofits and small businesses affected by the ongoing limitations due to COVID. The funding enables the Museum to continue moving forward during these truly uncertain times.”
Overall, Perry said he is happy the township has been able to support these small businesses that are “living the American Dream” in a sense, he said. “These entrepreneurs are taking a risk and putting their life savings on the line to open up these small businesses and not only are they putting bread on the table or their families but they’re doing it for other people – the people who they employ, the people who come into their stores, who work for their stores,” he said. “This is what this country was built on…being there for people in times of need.
“I’m proud that we were able to implement this in such a small amount of time, and I know that it comes at the exact time a lot of these businesses are in need of some financial support,” said Perry. “Not many municipalities – I can’t think of any other than Middletown – were able to implement a half-million-dollar program and turn it around all the while following all the rules of the Department of Housing Urban Development and be able to put this money back put this money back into our economy.”
Deputy Mayor Rick Hibell, who owns a marine construction company in Middletown, said he understands firsthand the financial burden the pandemic has had on the community. “This is one way we are able to give back to our small business owners who have been putting their heart and soul into trying to adapt to the continuous blows COVID has dealt.”
This article was originally published in the Feb. 18-24, 2021 edition of The Two River Times.
