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EAST LIVERPOOL -- An incoming restaurant and a local nursing home group will be recommended for loans in the near future as the finance committee of the East Liverpool Community Investment Corporation met in regular session Thursday.
The first request approved by the committee was made by the trio of Nicole Hilbert, Amanda Jones and Kiley May, all three of whom are looking to start their new restaurant titled "Fresh on Fifth", which will be located at 206 East Fifth Street at the former Kwik Bites restaurant space.
The women sought a small business loan for $10,540, which would assist with starting up the new business, to which Jones, who served as spokesperson for the group, said the restaurant looks to open by Dec. 4.
Jones said they were able to get the property and information on what would be needed, but stated they had some construction issues that hadn't been anticipated costs up front.
"We are just requesting the review the possibility of getting some money from the city because we are so excited about opening up downtown and bringing some life back into East Liverpool," Jones said.
According to Jones, the new restaurant would serve as an alternative to fast food, to which they would provide a selection of fresh, healthy food items such as sandwiches, salads, soups, smoothies and sweets, none of which would be fried, and would also be looking into "grab and go" options.
Jones also said the restaurant's key demographic would be local residents and those attending downtown schools, such as the Kent State East Liverpool campus, the Buckeye Online School for Success and the New Castle School of Trades East Liverpool campus.
"I know that with the New Castle School of Trades, they have about 20 minutes for lunch every day, so we're trying to get some deli cases for grab-to-go, so we can really accommodate the quick-pace lifestyle of the student in the area, and have wi-fi and new seating and bar seating," Jones said.
When asked by executive director Bill Cowan how much money the three had put in to the business, Jones stated that $4,000 had already been invested, which has also included personal finances.
"We were hoping by now, but of course, once we started into the project, there were a lot of upgrades that we wanted to do, so we're hopefully finishing up those issues this week," Jones said.
Jones also reported that the business is taking a conservative approach to its sales, projecting 30 customers daily, $10 per customer.
Meanwhile, a loan request was also approved for James Fox and Scott Fox, representing Orchards Management LLC. of Chester, W.Va., who sought a $15,000 small business loan for the purchase of a generator, transfer switch, supplies and installation for the existing nursing home facility at 709 Armstrong Lane.
Speaking on behalf of the company was James Fox, who advised the committee that the nursing facility's current standby generator was undersized to meet the backup electrical demands of the building, following an inspection done by the Ohio State Fire Marshal's office.
"The State Fire Marshal had told us that the existing generator in that building is undersized," Fox said. "It's kind of puzzling after all these years why all of a sudden it's undersized, but we have found a generator, and we are right in the process of doing that work right now."
Fox also added that they have been experiencing an existing water runoff problem, but are working to correct that issue.
Fox said the company was seeking city assistance in order to keep the current building going as they looking into building a new facility somewhere within the current vicinity, although an exact location has not been determined at this point.
According to Fox, the generator purchased was a one-year-old model from Alcoa of Pittsburgh for a cost of $7,000--compared to which a new generator would have cost $20,000--to which Protech Electric would handle installation for $3,000.
Cowan asked Fox if they would be willing to accept a smaller loan, to which Fox said it could be a possibility.
However, noting the service that the Fox family and the Orchards have given to the community, committee member Al Fricano recommended the full $15,000 being sought.
"It's a wonderful facility that is down there, and it's a real credit to the community," Fricano said.
Both of these recommendations will be presented to the CIC's Board of Trustees during its next meeting at a date to be determined.