The city of San Diego is offering thousands of dollars to some small businesses to help improve their curb appeal.
The Storefront Improvement Program has already helped dozens of local businesses over the years and now officials are trying to get more operators to take advantage of the program.
The Olympic Café in North Park, which has been serving up classic Greek cuisine for nearly four decades, is among the businesses that have already benefited.
“It’s just been a family operation from the beginning,” said Nick Kostelas, co-owner of Olympic Café. “My grandma still passes by. It’s all her recipes. My mom is still here. She does all the baking.”
When Kotselas and his family moved into their current location on University Avenue near Louisiana Street a few years ago, the outside of the building needed a major makeover. The previous tenants left behind a bright red exterior.
“We repainted the whole building,” Kostelas said. “Built this covering. We redid the covered patio space.”
The improvements cost nearly $20,000. The city covered $8,000 of that bill.
The Olympic Café is considered one of the success stories in San Diego’s Storefront Improvement Program. The city is hoping this serves as an example for other businesses and expands the program into other neighborhoods.
“It’s a win-win scenario where the business owner has more resources to improve their storefront, but it’s also great for all the surrounding businesses and the residents in the community as a whole,” said Elizabeth Studebaker, assistant deputy director for the city of San Diego’s Economic Development Department.
Studebaker said the storefront improvement incentive went away briefly at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. But now, San Diego can offer more help to small businesses in traditionally underserved communities like Logan Heights, Lincoln Park and Encanto.
“If you’re in an economically disadvantaged or historically under-resourced part of the city, you can receive up to $10,400 in reimbursement for $16,000 spent,” Studebaker said.
The city also offers free design help to grant recipients. To qualify for the program, businesses, must employ fewer than 25 people. While it doesn’t cover all the costs of renovations, it was welcome help for Kostelas and his family.
“It’s a great thing for the neighborhood,” Kostelas said
San Diego sets aside $200,000 a year for the Storefront Improvement Program. To apply, business owners can go here.
