LEWIS COUNTY, NY – The Lewis County Microenterprise Grant Program, administered by Lewis County Economic Development, awarded 
$170,000 in grant funding to microenterprises in Lewis County for equipment purchases that helped lead to the creation of new jobs, retention of existing jobs, and expansion of products and services. Assistance was offered to income eligible businesses through the New York State Office Community Renewal (NYSOCR) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).
According to NYSOCR, "the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Economic Development program provides grants to communities that wish to sponsor economic development activities that create or retain jobs for low- and moderate-income persons.The goal of the program is to fund projects that result in high quality, full-time jobs that are well paying and provide benefits and training to low- and moderate-income persons."
The Lewis County Microenterprise Grant Program funded the following projects:
- The Bateman Draft House (Lowville, NY) is a new downtown restaurant and bar in Lowville, featuring a variety of New York State craft draft beers, wines, ciders and liquors. The grant funded $6,698.77 to assist with miscellaneous bar and kitchen equipment.
- Black River Valley Natural (Lyons Falls, NY) produces wholesome high quality dairy products including a variety of flavored milk, butter, cheeses. The grant funded $34,650.00, assisting with the purchase of bulk storage tanks and a cream separator to allow for expansion into bottled skim, 1% and 2% milk.
- Bodhi Kombucha (Lowville, NY), sister company to Skewed Brewing, produces craft kombucha. The grant funded $34,000, assisting with the purchase of a canning line allowing both Bodhi Kombucha, and sister companies, to can products onsite.
- Cummings Farms Cream Line Milk (Turin, NY) produces white, chocolate, strawberry, coffee and maple cream line milk. The grant funded $35,000, assisting with the purchase of pasteurizing and bottling equipment that allowed them to bring bottling facility onto the farm.
- Osceola Ski & Sport Resort (Osceola, NY) is a new destination for cross country skiing and snowshoeing, complete with ski lodge to warm up and grab a drink and bite to eat. The grant funded $34,448.03 to assist with the purchase of kitchen equipment and furniture for the new Ski Lodge in Osceola, NY.
- Tug Hill Artisan Roasters (New Bremen, NY) is a small batch coffee roaster that offers specialty coffees roasted locally. The grant funded 26,008.20 to assist with the purchase of additional roastery equipment that will allow them to expand their business into a larger location in the future. It also funded the creation of a cell-phone app that will allow ease of ordering for retail & wholesale.
“2020 was an incredibly difficult year for small businesses in Lewis County,” said Lewis County Manager, Ryan Piche. “Programs like the Microenterprise Grant Program are essential to keeping our economic momentum, even during times of extreme difficulty. The team at the IDA did a wonderful job getting these funds into the hands of entrepreneurs and small business owners who continue to move our community forward.”
Brittany Davis, Executive Director of Lewis County Economic Development added “Small businesses and entrepreneurs often have a difficult time accessing capital in small amounts to purchase the equipment they need.Our partnership with Lewis County to administer this program has allowed small businesses and entrepreneurs to start and expand products and services, which in turn creates and retains jobs, creates unique experiences for residents and tourists, and ultimately enhances the tax base of Lewis County.”
In order to qualify for the Lewis County Microenterprise Grant Program, businesses must:
- Be involved in food or value-added production, relocation to a downtown, or a tourism-based business
- Must be a microenterprise comprised of 5 or fewer employees, including the owner
- Be located within Lewis County
- Create new jobs to be made available to low-to-moderate income individuals as defined by NYSOCR guidelines.In the case of the microenterprise, the owner can also qualify by those same income guidelines.
- Funding must be used to purchase equipment, machinery, furniture or fixtures.
Lewis County recently submitted another grant application for $200,000 in funding, through NYSOCR, for a second round of funding. Award announcements are expected to be made Summer 2021.
