UTICA, N.Y. — Café Domenico, a coffee shop located at 2011 Genesee St. in Utica, has been awarded a $9,000 grant from the Be A Neighbor Fund, which seeks to help “struggling” small businesses in the Utica area.
The funding will come in $3,000 disbursements over the next three months, the nonprofit Handshake.City said in announcing the grant money.
Handshake.City is an organization under fiscal sponsorship of the Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties, per its website.
The coffee shop is the first local business to benefit from the Be A Neighbor Fund.
Café Domenico was chosen as the first recipient based on factors such as financial need, longevity, community involvement, and public nominations. Throughout the pandemic the café was forced to limit operational hours and for four months, provide take-out only. In June, the Café Domenico manager tested positive for COVID and was forced to close the doors for two weeks. Café Domenico is currently operating with limited seating but is still facing nearly 50 percent quarterly drops in revenue compared to years past.
The coffee shop will use the funding to help pay for basic business expenses such as back rent, utilities, insurance, supplies, and employee wages.
The Be A Neighbor Fund was launched Feb. 1 as a joint project between businesses Universal Bookkeeper, Made In Utica and McGrogan Design. The goal was to raise funds and distribute awards to locally owned businesses that have had revenue compromised by COVID-19 restrictions.
Businesses could apply or be nominated. The fund received 31 applications and 67 nominations. Fund awards are being distributed as monthly payments to provide reliable income through spring.
“The idea is to make an impact and give the business some breathing room,” Justin Miller of Universal Bookkeeper, said.
Miller brought the idea for the Be A Neighbor Fund to Handshake.City. The fund is made possible solely through donations, organizers say. More than $17,000 has been crowdfunded by individual donors and business contributions so far, and the fund is still accepting donations.
The Be A Neighbor Fund is also supported by AmeriCU Credit Union and other partners.