30 Norwalk Small Businesses Receive Coronavirus Aid Grants

NORWALK, CT — Thirty Norwalk small businesses were selected this week to receive coronavirus aid grants of $5,000 each under the city's $150,000 COVID-19 Small Business Grant Program.

The program is part of an ongoing effort by the city to help Norwalk businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. Only businesses with 25 or fewer employees were eligible to apply for the grants, and the winning businesses were chosen at random through a lottery Thursday night. See video of the lottery drawing below.

"We had 234 applications, and that just goes to show that the need is real," said Mayor Harry Rilling. "A lot of businesses are struggling. They're not able to open, and when they are able to open, they can't conduct their full operations."

Rilling added that 38 percent of the businesses that applied for the grant program had not received any government assistance during the pandemic.

Other statistics from the applications"

• 44 percent of the businesses that applied are minority-owned
• 39 percent are woman-owned
• 24 percent that applied were restaurants

The winning businesses are:

1) Ride Share/Actor Biz, Seaview Avenue

2) The Chamo, Taylor Avenue

3) CP Piercing, South Main Street

4) Marval USA, Connecticut Avenue

5) Piasecki & Company, Richards Avenue

6) College Admissions Coaching, LLC, Hunters Lane

7) Color Cafe North, Main Avenue

8) F45 Training South Norwalk, West Avenue

9) Utopia, Connecticut Avenue

10) Los Portales, South Main Street

11) Blackstones Steakhouse, Main Street

12) Superior Limousine, Emerson Street

13) Mira Mar Cafe, Monroe Street

14) Hype Room, Wall Street

15) Sexton Lighting Design, Newtown Avenue

16) A.B.Baekey Architecture + Design, LLC, Melbourne Road

17) Match Restuarant, Washington Street

18) LeeAnn DeLeo, Realtor - Kinard Realty Group, Yankee Doodle Court

19) Oman's Garden Center, Harbor Avenue

20) Marie's Kitchen, West Avenue

21) The Drawing Deck, Crest Road

22) Soluma MultiService, Main Street

23) O'Neill's Pub & Restaurant, North Main Street

24) JA Custom Woodwork, LLC, Oakwood Avenue

25) Rockbottom Furniture & Flooring, Lois Street

26) Durty Jerk, France Street

27) The Dilly Duck Shop, Main Avenue

28) Safe and Sound Daycare, LLC, Scribner Avenue

29) Palace Production Center, North Main Street

30) JB's Deli and Pizza, Tierney Street

The grant program was launched by the city's economic development team, led by Sabrina Church and Jessica Casey. There are no current plans for another coronavirus grant program, but Rilling is hopeful that the federal government will provide new funding to states, which in turn could trickle down to municipalities to seed similar efforts.

"We wish we could have given $5,000 grants to all 234 applicants, but we're going to keep on exploring and do whatever we can to help our local small businesses," Rilling said.