Carroll Rebound II & Restaurant Relief Updates

For more information:
John T. Lyburn, Director of Economic Development
410-386-2070

For Immediate Release

Two Business Assistance Grants Expand on November 23
Carroll Rebound II – Retail – To Include Small Business Services
Carroll County Restaurant Relief – To Include Service Organizations  with Commercial Kitchens

Westminster, MD, Thursday, November 19, 2020 – Today, the Carroll County Board of Commissioners authorized the Department of Economic Development to expand the county’s current business assistance grant programs. Both programs will begin to accept grant applications for these new businesses on Monday, November 23rd at 12:00 noon. Carroll Rebound II – Retail will expand to include small business service establishments and the Carroll County Restaurant Relief will expand assistance to service organizations with commercial kitchens. 

Carroll Rebound II – Retail grant applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis and be reviewed by an internal team. Retail grant applicants must have been established in Carroll County as of March 1, 2020, be open and operating in a commercial/industrial zone, and be in good standing with the State of Maryland and Carroll County. Small businesses offering services to clients are now eligible and may apply for grants beginning Monday, November 23rd at noon. Service businesses that previously applied and were denied funding must reapply. Ineligible businesses include home-based businesses, national/regional chains and publicly traded companies/franchises. Awards will be made based on verified employment as follows:

• Five (5) or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE*) employees – $3,000
• Six (6) to 50 FTE employees – $5,000

*FTE employees are counted as working 30+ hours a week

A grant agreement will be executed with the grantee and grant monies must be spent by December 30, 2020. All grant documents must be kept for a period of five years.

Carroll County Restaurant Relief

Carroll County Restaurant Relief grant applications will continue to be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Service organizations with commercial kitchens are now eligible and may apply beginning Monday, November 23rd at noon. Restaurants must be established in Carroll County as of March 1, 2020, be open and operating in a commercial/industrial zone, and be in good standing with the State of Maryland and Carroll County. National/regional chains, franchises, and publicly traded companies are not eligible. Breweries, distilleries, food trucks, wineries and service organizations with a commercial kitchen are eligible and exempt from the zoning requirement. All grant documents must be kept for a period of five years. Awards will be based on verified employment as follows:

• Nine (9) or fewer FTE* employees – $5,000
• Ten (10) to 50 FTE employees $10,000

*FTE employees are counted as working 30+ hours a week

A grant agreement will be executed with the grantee and grant monies must be disbursed to restaurants by December 31, 2020.

Both the retail and restaurant programs will allow new eligible working capital expenses of rent/mortgage and utility bills, in addition to the previous program eligible expenses of:

• Information technology hardware/software
• Marketing
• Employee training
• Commercial cleaning
• Professional services
• Equipment and vehicle business expenses
• COVID-19 related expenses

If you have questions, please email info@carrollbiz.org.

Interested businesses should sign up for Carroll Connect and Carroll County Economic Development e-news and watch for information via the Department of Economic Development website at https://carrollbiz.org. No-cost business counseling is also available through the Carroll County Small Business Development Center – please visit https://www.marylandsbdc.org/locations/northern-region to connect with a counselor for further business assistance.

About Carroll County Department of Economic Development
The Carroll County Department of Economic Development is a results-oriented team that creates competitive business solutions. To learn more about the programs or opportunities available in Carroll County email info@carrollbiz.org, visit https://carrollbiz.org, follow @CarrollEconDev on Twitter or call 410-386-2070.

#  #  #