Special to 1808Delaware
The Locust Table restaurant, located at 16 Locust Street, recently received their liquor license and started to prepare for a dinner service expansion in part due to a grant from the Powell Development Corporation.
The Powell Development Corporation (PDC), a non-profit created to do economic development work for the City of Powell, awarded its first ever Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) grant to The Locust Table in Downtown Powell earlier this year.
The PDC created the Performance Based BRE Grant Program in 2024 to help existing businesses thrive in the community, solve problems, and create jobs.
These grants are negotiated to be an equivalent percentage of up to two years’ worth of income taxes paid to the City of Powell. Businesses can apply for Powell BRE grants to cover up to $10,000 for a specific need, such as machinery and equipment, software, services, relocation expenses, construction, and buildout.
The Locust Table received the grant for $7,500 to cover the cost of a new liquor license, which will help the restaurant work towards offering regular dinner service in early 2025. Between the new liquor license and dinner service, owner Karla Woolley expects to create 12 jobs with $227,599 in new payroll.
“In order to attract new businesses, a community must first work to retain and grow the businesses they have,” said Sean Hughes, City of Powell Economic Development Administrator. “The Locust Table BRE Grant is proof that we can partner with a business and improve our community’s amenities at the same time.”
The City also helped connect Woolley with chef Mike Gadd, who recently returned to the Columbus area to help launch The Locust Table’s dinner service. Chef Gadd has worked in the kitchens of Speck, Veritas, and L’Antibes and ran his own business: Dare Devil Dogs.
The Locust Table is offering their first gourmet chef dinner series event on Thursday, October 12. Learn more and purchase tickets on their website.
Powell businesses interested in PDC grants should contact Sean Hughes at shughes@cityofpowell.us.
Source: City of Powell; Image by andreaegger from Pixabay
