The Downtown Revolving Loan Program
Unforeseen expenses are the nature of the beast for every entrepreneur working to open a new restaurant. Shortly after developing a menu for MoJo’s, Rob Mulford, owner of Market Street and the soon-to-be opened MoJo’s, learned that he needed a $15,000-$20,000 grease trap. Installation required the alley behind the East Main Street building to be “dug up,” further adding to the much cost. Mulford said “It’s an expense we didn’t count on.” He added “We blew our budget.”
Mulford and Executive Chef Joel Olive are in an attempt to get back on track. They tapped into the Downtown Revolving Loan Program -a rarely utilized city resource. It provides low-interest loans for anyone undertaking projects that assist expanding businesses in downtown Salisbury or could foster the growth of new businesses. The Revolving Loan Committee gave him a unanimous thumb up this week after Mulford submitted his application.
He must be approved by the City Council now. It is expected to consider Mulford’s application at Nov. 7 work session. According to Assistant City Administrator Lore’ Chambers the Revolving Loan Program was established in fiscal year 1983. As a Community Development Block Grant in the amount of $410,000, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provided the funds.
