Help on the way for small businesses affected by Richmond water crisis
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Small businesses impacted by the Richmond water crisis this past January could soon receive financial assistance.
On Thursday, Feb. 27, the city approved funding for a $750,000 small business recovery grant to be distributed among local businesses. According to Richmond leaders, the grant includes $250,000 from the city's Economic Development Association (EDA), plus $500,000 dollars from groups like Dominion Energy and Altria.
One business owner, Rabia Kamara, who operates Ruby Scoops Ice Cream Shop, expressed cautious optimism about the grant. She welcomed the effort, but remains skeptical about how the program will unfold and whether all businesses will receive enough funding to fully recover.
"It's a great gesture -- it just needs to actually play out in a way that helps us get the funds and get back on track," Kamara said.
More than a month after the city’s water outage, many small businesses are still struggling to recover. Ruby Scoops, for example, lost nearly 100 gallons of ice cream and has not been able to operate its full menu since.
"We're not necessarily running our full 16-flavor menu," Kamara said. "We hope that people are understanding and giving us some grace for trying to get back."
Kamara sees the recovery grant as an opportunity for improvement and plans to use the funds to replace her broken freezer -- which was damaged during the snowstorm -- and to hire more staff.
"I am currently hiring and getting some folks set up for the busy season," Kamara said. "But, at this time of year, it's just myself and my husband working full-time. Spring and summer are when things really pick up."
While city leaders are excited to offer financial relief to local businesses, Kamara hopes the program will be managed carefully. She recalls the challenges faced by a previous residential grant program, which had to be pulled after just a few days.
Kamara is concerned about whether the city will be able to handle all of the applications.
"I know they did a residential grant [program] and had to pull it after the first day or two," Kamara said. "So are they managing expectations that we have? Will they be able to take all of our applications?"
City officials have promised to provide more details about eligibility criteria next week, which will be shared on the Metropolitan Business League's website.
Applications for the recovery grant will open on March 17 and close on March 28. There will also be a virtual Q&A session on March 6 and 12. Businesses can sign up to attend online.
