LEBANON, VA – NOVEMBER 21, 2019 — Seed capital matching grant funding totaling up to $180,000 was approved for 18 new small businesses in Southwest Virginia during the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA) meeting, Thursday in Lebanon. The grant funds approved by the board will see each of the businesses receive up to $10,000 from the VCEDA Seed Capital Matching Grant program.
The 18 new businesses join 53 other small businesses spread throughout all seven VCEDA coalfield counties and the city of Norton, which have been approved for grant funding since the seed capital grant program was established. Grant funds for the first 53 businesses totaled $563,500 with a projected economic impact of $3.13 million in private investment resulting in the creation of 542 full-time and part-time jobs within five years. The 18 new businesses approved Thursday are projected to create a combined total of $1.114 million in private investment and to create 75 full-time and part-time jobs.
“VCEDA’s seed capital matching grant program has been a very successful program since it was started in 2017,” said VCEDA Executive Director/General Counsel Jonathan Belcher. “The program has successfully resulted in investment by small businesses in our local communities and has also created jobs benefitting residents in VCEDA’s seven county, one-city area. In addition to VCEDA’s other programs and initiatives which are more targeted to traditional industrial development, we believe that supporting entrepreneurship and small business growth is another very important component of enhancing the economy of the region.”
VCEDA region for-profit businesses one year and under with less than 10 full-time employees are eligible to apply for dollar-for-dollar matching grants of up to $10,000 from the VCEDA Seed Capital Matching Fund. Applicants work with the Small Business Development Centers at Mountain Empire and Southwest Virginia community colleges to prepare the applications to VCEDA that include detailed business and financial plans. Businesses must be located in, or plan to operate in, the VCEDA region in southwest Virginia that includes Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, and Wise counties and the City of Norton.
Seed capital matching grants awarded Thursday at the level of up to $10,000 for each business included those to:
- Beartown Barbell Club LLC, Russell County, a 24-hour fitness facility and gym;
- The Local Mercantile, LLC, Russell County, a coffee shop and mercantile;
- Cheesy does it LLC, Russell County, a mobile food truck serving gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches and paninis;
- TP’s Home Remodeling Small Engine Repair LLC, doing business as TP’s Auto Repair, Tazewell County, an automotive repair and maintenance service specializing in engine repairs, tires, mufflers, brakes and tune-ups;
- Coaltown Taps, LLC, Tazewell County, a tap room and restaurant serving craft beer and gourmet burgers;
- The Red Roof Home, LLC, Tazewell County, a bed and breakfast;
- PK Fitness Inc., Tazewell County, a 24-hour gym and fitness club;
- Dismal River Trucking, LLC, Buchanan County, a trucking business;
- Fired Up Pottery, Buchanan County, a paint your own ceramic pottery same-day studio;
- Daisy s Cabins LLC, Buchanan County, a cabin rental business with access to Spearhead Trails’ Coal Canyon Trail;
- Viers Medical Clinic PLLC, Dickenson County, an after-hours medical clinic in Haysi;
- Down Home Spirits, LLC, Dickenson County, a moonshine distillery which will sell flavored moonshine products;
- Black Diamond Gym & Spa LLC, Dickenson County, a 24-hour, seven days a week gym and health and wellness facility;
- Frost Bite LLC, Dickenson County, a mobile shaved ice business;
- Dickenson Shooting Sports, Dickenson County, a rifle and gun shooting range;
- TTGI2, LLC, doing business as Wise RX, Wise County, a new pharmacy;
- Small Town Fitness LLC, Wise County, a 24-hour gym and fitness center; and
- D&LP, “Dave ‘n the Little People,” Scott County, a miniature steam railroad attraction.
About Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority and Southwest Virginia’s e-Region: The Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1988 to enhance and diversify the region’s economy and help create jobs, markets Southwest Virginia’s e-Region and its focus on electronic information technology, energy, education, emerging technologies, and entrepreneurship. VCEDA is a unique economic development organization that manages funds for economic development projects from a percentage of the coal and natural gas severance taxes paid by coal and natural gas companies that operate in the region. Located in southwestern Virginia, the region includes Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, and Wise counties and the City of Norton. www.vceda.us or www.e-Region.org.
About the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority Seed Capital Matching Grant Fund: VCEDA region for-profit businesses one year and under with less than 10 full-time employees are eligible to apply for dollar-for-dollar matching grants up to $10,000 from the VCEDA Seed Capital Matching Fund. Applicants work with the Small Business Development Centers at Mountain Empire and Southwest Virginia community colleges to prepare the applications to VCEDA that include detailed business and financial plans. Businesses must be located in or plan to operate in the VCEDA region in southwestern Virginia that includes Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, and Wise counties and the City of Norton.