A longtime Clarendon restaurant is sporting a bright new look thanks in part to help from the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation.
JD SteakOut received $2,000 under the CEDC’s Façade Grant Program, which helped cover the cost of painting the business at the intersection of US 287 and Jefferson.
Restaurant owners Jesus and Dora Hernandez have been doing business in Clarendon for 17 years, but they found that their current location wasn’t getting the attention of travelers. A change to an orange and green color scheme fixed that problem.
“I have a lot of travelers that notice it now,” Jesus Hernandez said. “People tell us that they have passed by here for years and not noticed it. Now they do.”
Hernandez said he would encourage other people to take advantage of the CEDC’s program and improve their properties.
“I would like to see the whole town fixed up,” Hernandez said. “We would all have more business.”
Since the Façade Grant Program began in 2008, the CEDC has awarded $21,397.04 to property owners in downtown Clarendon. The Façade Grant Program provides 50-50 matching grants, up to a maximum of $2,000 per project, for improvements done to commercial storefronts.
The program considers properties located in the city’s entire Central Business District, an area that generally includes properties facing Kearney Street from First to Fifth streets as well as properties facing Sully Street and Jefferson Street from First to Fifth and properties on the west side of Gorst Street from Second Street (US 287) to Fourth Street. Businesses located on the US 287 corridor are also now eligible to apply for funding.
Projects eligible for consideration could be anything from a coat of paint to new signage to sidewalk improvements to a complete rehabilitation of a storefront. Property owners interested in Façade Grant funds must get approval before beginning their projects.
For more information about the CEDC Façade Grant Program, contact Chandra Eggemeyer at 874-2421.
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