TAMPA, Fla. — It's nice to take a stroll in downtown Tampa and see all the cute shops and restaurants, but it can be a challenge for some businesses to really catch your eye as you walk or drive by.
That's why the Tampa Downtown Partnership is offering up some grant money to help.
Imagine a building with a couple of cafes and shops, but nothing on the sidewalk and no cute awnings. It probably wouldn't be easy for people to notice these businesses without some changes.
When Danielle Evans first opened her boutique, Don Me Now, in the Channel District a few years ago, it just wasn't in the budget to create an outdoor space.
So they applied for and won a grant from the Tampa Downtown Partnership.
"We applied for some outdoor furniture. We felt like this would be an opportunity for people to see more of the space with less down here right at the beginning of 2018," Evans said. "This would be an eye-opener as people drove by to see furniture and kind of know that something was in this space."
Little did she know how important that outdoor area would become in the last year keeping customers coming, even during the coronavirus pandemic.
"If you want to go outside, you can go out there and sit with your guests and feel a little more comfortable about being here," Evans said.
Now Evans' business is applying again. This time for some better outdoor signs, but the grant has changed a little.
Rachel Radawec with the Downtown Tampa Partnership says businesses have been struggling enough since COVID, so they are not requiring them to match the money.
"It provides businesses some resources to help in an area that they might not have been able to budget for originally," Radawec said. "We look at doing sidewalk furnishings, signs, awnings, anything that can be seen from the exterior of your building and it's really great for new businesses in downtown or people that are looking for a refresh."