Small business owners get boost from Montgomery County
Montgomery County awarded assistance to its small business owners. One grant recipient shared about how the $15,000 reward will help them grow their business and the local economy.
FORT PLAIN, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Montgomery County awarded assistance to its small business owners. One grant recipient shared how the $15,000 reward will help them grow their business and the local economy.
Stephanie Celic co-owns Sleepy Forest Bakeshop. It’s one of 16 recipients of the county’s Microenterprise Grant Program.
“It feels great to be selected and definitely an honor to be selected,” said Celic.
The Montgomery County Business Development Center granted local business owners between $5,000 and $35,000 dollars, all intended to stimulate economic growth.
Sleepy Forest Bakeshop received $15,000. Celic said it’s given them an opportunity to expand their offerings.
“We bring some people here and that helps them discover other places around and it helps build the local economy,” said Celic.
The grant is helping them purchase new equipment, including a sour dough bread oven.
“In this county, we really need some more sourdough bread. A lot of our customers are really asking for it, so we need a special oven to be able to make really good, crusty sourdough bread,” said Celic.
She wants to start a sourdough bread making class and hopes to have it up and running by the summer.
Sleepy Forest prides itself on sourcing local ingredients and wants to kick things up a notch by cultivating more partnerships with cooks, many of whom have already received grants of their own.
“We have a few customers who come in that I know are really good cooks. A lot of the farmers around here are actually really good cooks and they do their own kind of catering, so we hope to partner and collaborate with some of those people,” said Celic.
The Montgomery County Business Development Center said the Microenterprise Grant Program highlights the innovative spirit of its small business sector and it’s made possible by the New York State Community Development Block Grant.
The center said it’s needed with average earnings in Montgomery County lower than average earnings in the state and U.S.
Celic looks forward to helping more people discover things to do in Montgomery County.
“In this case, we are on a main street so it helps to bring people into the community and get new people in here, going to all the other businesses,” said Celic.
She said they will work to get a schedule in place for the sourdough making class and added people can look forward to the bakeshop hosting more events.