Get Help Launching a Storefront Business

The Downtown Alliance wants to give 20 new storefront businesses a boost towards success.

The business improvement district is launching “Jump Start,” a program that provides restaurateurs and retailers with customized business plans and one-on-one help with up to $10,000 worth of professional advice from the business consultancy Streetsense. 

Among the requirements, owners must have a signed lease or letter of intent dated on or after July 1, 2021, and can’t be open at the time of application. The business must be located within the Alliance’s improvement district. 

The Alliance also has created a comprehensive list of 48 second-generation spaces in the neighborhood that are move-in ready and could save new restaurateurs high upfront costs.

Opening a new business means “unexpected challenges [that] surface at every turn,” Downtown Alliance president Jessica Lappin said in a statement. “Just because you have the best recipe for pho or a keen eye for tech’s next hottest gadget, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you know how to market it online or efficiently set up a payroll system. That’s why we are committed to helping new retailers survive and thrive in Lower Manhattan.”

Go here for more information and to apply.