Tuesday March 19, 2024
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Photo: Louisville Forward

Mayor Greg Fischer announced that Louisville Forward’s Small Business Development team is launching a Food Entrepreneurship series designed to foster the development of new restaurateurs and food entrepreneurs. The interactive 9-class series will run from March 3rd to June 30th and will be taught by local industry-leading professionals. All classes will meet on Saturdays from 8:30 – 11:30 a.m.

“From the Hot Brown to Bourbon infusions, Louisville has been internationally recognized for its innovative and fresh culinary scene and we want to keep this momentum going,” said Fischer. “Through this interactive series, entrepreneurs will learn how to open a restaurant or food service business and strengthen operations.”

Registration is open, but space is limited. To participate, individuals must be over 18 years of age, attend 8 of the 9 classes and be a Louisville resident. There is no fee to participate in the series. Upon completion of the program, participants will receive continued assistance and connections to resources from Louisville Forward’s Small Business Development team.

Schedule, class descriptions and venue locations are listed below.
1. March 3, 2018
Health and Safety Regulations – This course will cover the basics of proper food handling, inspections and placarding, review of common reasons restaurants fail inspections and how to keep from failing. The course also will cover the top five ways a customer becomes ill and things to consider when changing the type of food service you offer.
Venue: Chef Space – 1812 W Muhammad Ali Blvd, Louisville, KY 40203

2. March 17, 2018
Kitchen Set-Up and Menu Development – This course will cover the importance of proper and efficient kitchen set-up to help minimize ticket times and ensure quality and safe food preparation, as well as highlight the basic types of equipment available and its proper use. Participants will learn the basics of menu development, focusing on such things as ingredients and sourcing, food cost, authenticity of cuisine, cross utilization, and concepts of proper pricing.
Venue: Jefferson County Technical College, 109 E Broadway, Louisville, KY 40202

3. April 7, 2018
Purchasing and Managing Food Cost – Knowing food costs is integral to understanding a restaurant’s full budget. Participants will learn tips for managing food costs, through purchasing habits, tracking inventory, ands tools to help track and calculate.
Venue: Chef Space – 1812 W Muhammad Ali Blvd, Louisville, KY 40203

4. April 21, 2018
Employee Orientation and Training – In this course, participants will come away with a better understanding of how to navigate employment laws and regulations related to running a restaurant. Additional Human Resources best practices and policies for on-boarding and managing employees also will be covered.
Venue: Chef Space – 1812 W Muhammad Ali Blvd, Louisville, KY 40203

5. May 12, 2018
Customer Service – During this session participants will be instructed in ways the physical space and staff can go above and beyond the call of duty to create a welcoming, and pleasurable environment that customers want to come back to.
Venue: Chef Space – 1812 W Muhammad Ali Blvd, Louisville, KY 40203

6. May 19, 2018
Accounting and Cash Handling – This course will cover steps a food entrepreneur should take to ensure their accounting system is properly set up, including budgeting, cash flow, expense management, tax payments/filings, options of bookkeeping software, and what you should know for tax preparation.
Venue: Chef Space – 1812 W Muhammad Ali Blvd, Louisville, KY 40203

7. June 2, 2018
Management Training – From staff management and scheduling to creating a culture for your restaurant, this session will cover day-to-day restaurant management skills, including staff training to promote from within.
Venue: Chef Space – 1812 W Muhammad Ali Blvd, Louisville, KY 40203

8. June 16, 2018
Marketing and Branding – Participants will learn how to market their concept and themselves as a brand, by reviewing the various mediums of marketing from websites, social media and traditional methods such as flyers and brochures.
Venue: Tim Faulkner Gallery, 1512 Portland Ave, Louisville, KY 40203

9. June 30, 2018
Safety: Inside and Outside – This course will review safety best practices to maintain a safe environment for customers and employees, including proper lighting, opening and closing procedures, signs of suspicious activity, how to handle disruptive incidents inside and outside of your establishment, and suggestions of how to strengthen the street block.
Venue: Chef Space – 1812 W Muhammad Ali Blvd, Louisville, KY 40203

Mayor Greg Fischer  announced that Louisville has earned an A grade from small business owners through Thumbtack’s 2017 Small Business Friendliness Survey, which is the largest continuous study of small business perceptions of government policy in the United States.

Louisville ranked No. 7 out of the 80 cities surveyed and is the only city in Kentucky to receive this top ranking. The state received a grade of A-, ranking 17 out of 50 states surveyed.

“This recent ranking affirms that Louisville’s entrepreneurial community is thriving,” said the Mayor. “We pair our strong pro-business culture with a strong collaboration with small business stakeholders, and our goal is to find innovative ways to help small businesses move forward.”

Louisville scored an A+ in the employment, labor and hiring regulations and licensing regulations categories and scored above the national average in the tax regulations and government website categories.

“The small business owners we heard from in Louisville were six percent more positive about their city’s support for small businesses than the national average, leading to their A grade overall,” Thumbtack Economist, Lucas Puente, PhD, said in a news release.

Louisville’s ranking was higher than some peer cities, including Nashville at 17, Charlotte, N.C. at 27, Indianapolis at 29, and Columbus, O.H. at 66.

According to a news release, Thumbtack surveyed more than 13,000 small business owners in 50 states and 80 cities to evaluate how easy local governments make it to start, operate and grow a small business.

To view Louisville’s full score card, visit https://www.thumbtack.com/ky/louisville/#/2017/1

In an effort to address the needs of Louisville residents with disabilities and improve accessibility in many historic commercial structures in Metro Council District 8, Councilman Brandon Coan today announced that his office has partnered with the Department of Economic Development to create a dedicated revolving account that will loan up to $5,000 to businesses located in the district, already seeking the city’s accessibility loan program, to help pay for bigger and more accessibility improvements.
“The District 8 Accessibility Loan Program is part of my strategic objective to improve equitable access to the built environment,” said Coan.  “Many Highlands-area businesses are hard to navigate for people using wheelchairs or otherwise having limited mobility.  I hope local businesses will take advantage of this opportunity to improve their properties, expand their customer bases and make District 8 an even more welcoming community.”
To be eligible for the loan, the business must be located in District 8, be approved by the Metropolitan Business Development Corporation (METCO), the city’s board that governs small business loans, and be used on a project already borrowing $15,000 from METCO. The loan will be matched up to $5,000.
The city’s accessibility loans are offered to commercial property owners for the purpose of making buildings more accessible to people with disabilities. The loans are restricted to ingress and egress improvements, including but not limited to: accessible paths of travel, doors, handrails, threshold adjustments, and restroom updates.
“The Accessibility program is an important tool for improving the accessibility for everyone in our community, and District 8, anchored by many historic buildings, is ripe for these improvements,” said Scott Herrmann, Director of Economic Development. “Councilman Coan’s partnership with METCO is a testament to the city’s commitment to improving accessibility and furthering the vitality and quality of life in the Louisville community.”

The Center for Accessible Living has agreed to provide pro bono Accessibility Surveys to applicants seeking to take advantage of the new loan program.  The surveys identify ADA compliance issues and make compliance suggestions – the kinds of improvements intended to be funded by the loans.
“As a compassionate city, Louisville should strive to be accessible to all people, and the District 8 Accessibility Loan Program is a positive development toward that goal,” said David Allgood, Director of Advocacy at the Center for Accessible Living. “The Center for Accessible Living is proud to partner with Councilman Coan on this initiative. People with disabilities are the city’s second-largest minority, and we have money to spend at local businesses we can access and enjoy.”

July 26, 2017 is the 27th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed into law in 1990 by President George H. W. Bush. The law prohibits discrimination based on disability and improves access to the built environment through standards and requirements.

To learn more about the city’s accessibility loan, visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/louisville-forward/local-loan-programs.

Photo: LouVelo

Mayor Greg Fischer announced that with the financial backing of nine local businesses, Louisville’s bike share program will launch this spring and will be called LouVelo.

LouVelo is owned by Louisville Metro, which has contracted with CycleHop, a leading operator of major municipal bike share programs throughout North America, to run the program. The LouVelo network will begin with 300 bikes positioned at 28 bike share stations in downtown, Old Louisville, NuLu, near Waterfront Park, and points in between.

Another 15 stations are under consideration to expand the network. The city is working with the University of Louisville with an aim to place multiple stations on the school’s Belknap campus by fall 2017. Plans for expansion into other neighborhoods, such as Russell and the Highlands, are also being developed.

The service makes bicycles available for short-term use. The bikes can be picked up at one station and returned to any other station in the system, which makes it easy for people looking to get from one location to another during the work or school day without driving a car, and those riding for leisure, recreation or just touring the city.

LouVelo sponsors include Norton Healthcare, JP Morgan Chase & Co., UPS, Main & Clay, Genscape Inc., The Brown Hotel, KentuckyOne Health, Atria Senior Living, and The Eye Care Institute.

“These great community partners know that quality of life is a critical factor in maintaining and growing a talented workforce in Louisville,” Mayor Fischer said. “LouVelo is one of the many things we’re doing to enhance quality of life in our city.”

“We are pleased to be a sponsor of the bike share program,” said Russell F. Cox, president and CEO of Norton Healthcare. “LouVelo’s goal of offering bicycles across the community aligns with our mission to improve the health of our community.”

The Mayor noted that bike sharing is part of the Move Louisville long-term multimodal transportation plan, which calls for accommodating all users of the city’s transportation system — pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and public transit riders — in the best ways possible. It’s also a great way for people to reduce their carbon footprints and increase wellness while serving the routine objective of getting from one place to another.

LouVelo is another way that Louisville is growing its network of cycling facilities, such as bike lanes, that are making it easier and safer to get around the city on two wheels.

Dave Nelson, Chief Operating Officer of CycleHop, said “We are excited to offer a new mode of public transportation to the residents and visitors of Louisville. Providing healthy, sustainable and fun transit alternatives is at the core of CycleHop’s mission. We are very grateful to Mayor Fischer, our sponsors and everyone in Louisville Metro who has made this mission a reality.”

An official launch will be announced soon. Riders will then be able to buy daily, monthly or annual passes. Until then LouVelo is offering a $99 Founding Member plan that includes an unlimited number of 60-minute rides for a whole year. A station map and signup details are available at www.louvelo.com. LouVelo can also be found on Twitter and Facebook under LouVeloBikes.

Startup costs to develop the LouVelo plan and to purchase and install bikes and stations were funded through a federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant of $1.1 million matched with $273,000 from Louisville Metro. Operational costs for the program will be covered though user fees, sponsorship, and an annual appropriation from metro in the amount of $50,000.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer today announced the ABCs of Buying Local social media campaign. The campaign aims to increase dollars spent locally during the holiday season.

Starting this week, various business groups are being featured thorough the holidays, with A for Arts on Monday; B for Bourbon on Tuesday, and C for Chocolate on Wednesday. The campaign runs through Friday, December 23.

“It’s true that from A-Z, Louisville small businesses have something to offer everyone,” said Fischer. “From local restaurants that sell farm-raised, Kentucky Proud products to your favorite locally-brewed cup of coffee, Louisville’s small business shopping experience is second to none.”

Follow Louisville Forward on Twitter (@LouForward) and Instagram (@LouisvilleForward) to find out each day’s category.

The public is encouraged to join in the fun by sharing their favorite local gift giving ideas and favorite local places to shop using #BuyLocalLou.

A recent study of Louisville-area businesses shows that for every $100 spent at a locally owned, independent business, $55 is reinvested locally. By shopping local, consumers also help to preserve the unique community character of the Metro Louisville area.

The city has awarded loans totaling $95,000 to two small businesses to help them renovate or expand. The loans have been awarded by Louisville Forward Economic Development’s Metropolitan Business Development Corporation (METCO) and the Department of Community Services’ Microbusiness Development Program.

 

METCO loans have been awarded to the following business:

  • Two loans were approved for Cynthia Torp Properties, LLC for its property at 804 S. 5th Street. The loans will allow owner Cynthia Torp to renovate a warehouse in the SoBro neighborhood. Upon completion, the front of the building will house office space for Solid Light, and the back portion of the building will serve as its metal fabrication shop.
    • $75,000 façade loan
    • $15,000 accessibility loan

 

A microbusiness loan has been awarded to the following business:

  • $5,000 loan to Abound In Grace, located at 1226 Krupp Park Drive. This loan will allow owner Nina Smith to purchase more book inventory and supplies. The business is expanding their new product line Abound in Grace Kid’s Corner and will host bi-weekly youth activities and events. One new employee will be added to handle operations during peak hours.

 

The Metropolitan Business Development Corporation (METCO) governs metro government’s small business loans, which include facade, accessibility and gap financing loans. Because metro government is not the primary lender, the loan program allows many public-private partnerships between government and private business ventures that further the vitality and quality of life in the Louisville community.

 

To learn more about the METCO loan program, visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/louisville-forward/local-loan-programs

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