Atlanta launches program to support ‘legacy’ businesses with grants, new app

As Atlanta prepares for major events like the World Cup to bring a massive influx of visitors to the city, officials are trying to make sure a key group is not overlooked in all the hubbub — its longtime small businesses.

To that end, the city launched a program this week to support legacy small businesses, which are those that have been operating for 30 years or more. The initiative will provide up to $5,000 grants the businesses can use to modernize, as well as an app with a directory of all the legacy businesses in the city.

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

“I’m grateful for programs like this because they show that our city truly understands the importance of relationships,” Tracy Gates, owner of the 78-year-old Busy Bee Café, said at an event Tuesday evening celebrating the initiative’s launch.

“They clearly see that places like Busy Bee aren’t just businesses, they are part of Atlanta’s genetic makeup, and with their support, we can keep serving the community,” Gates said.

There are more than 500 legacy small businesses in Atlanta that employ more than 11,000 people, according to Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development authority. Every year, those businesses produce more than $3 billion in revenue.

“These legacy businesses have really stood the test of time and helped to make this city what it is,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “With so much growing so fast and changing, we wanted to be able to highlight them and help them and also to preserve the culture that they have already helped to instill in Atlanta.”

The legacy business program has been a long time in the making, spearheaded by Council member Jason Dozier. Last August, the City Council unanimously passed legislation to set up a $900,000 fund for the initiative. Officials are working with Invest Atlanta to administer the program.

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

The initiative has three main parts:

“It’s all about buy local, buy legacy. That’s what we’re pushing day in, day out,” said Eloisa Klementich, president and CEO of Invest Atlanta. “We can recognize them all we want but if you’re not shopping there, if you’re not purchasing there, it’s very difficult for them to make, you know, payroll and all the other things that they have to do.”

The city is releasing the approved $900,000 in tranches, with an initial disbursement of $300,000. Invest Atlanta is using that money for this first phase of the program.

One-third of that amount went to developing the app, another $100,000 will go to the legacy empowerment grants and the last $100,000 will be used for a dedicated person to help answer businesses’ questions about the program and for marketing the initiative, according to Klementich. The $50,000 grants for businesses in TADs are funded separately from the legacy business program.

As part of the first phase of the program, 20 legacy businesses will be chosen for the $5,000 reimbursable grants. To be eligible for the funding, businesses have to be within the city limits of Atlanta, hold a current city business license, operate from a commercial space (not a home) and have been in continuous operation for at least 30 years.

The program is giving priority to businesses in historically disinvested areas, those that have received minimal or no previous grant funding and businesses that have closed temporarily because of economic disruptions such as the city’s water main breaks in spring 2024 or the fires that closed Cheshire Bridge Road, according to Laurie Prickett, Invest Atlanta’s senior vice president of economic development.

Full guidelines can be found on the Invest Atlanta website and the application for the grants opens May 1.

For Gates from the Busy Bee Café, being a legacy business is bigger than just the years in operation.

“For me, legacy isn’t just about longevity. It’s about the lives you touch,” Gates said, “and the traditions you help keep alive.”

Legacy businesses

For more information about the program, visit the Invest Atlanta webpage at https://www.investatlanta.com/assets/legacy_empowerment_grant_guidelines_EbYO3oa.pdf

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