SPRINGFIELD – A campaign to spur growth of Latino businesses continued this week, with sizzling eggs as a side dish.
The Farmer’s House Restaurant co-owner Jose Cuevas cooked up eggs and pancakes Tuesday morning as the organization known as LEDC gathered to celebrate the awarding of 22 new micro-business grants totaling $125,000.
“We have the best omelets in Springfield,” said Cuevas.
All told, the LEDC, once known as the Latino Economic Development Corp., has awarded $500,000 over three years. Add in $250,000 of pandemic-era American Rescue Plan Act funds and the LEDC has given out $750,000 in small grants to about 150 businesses.
State Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, D-Springfield, secured the $500,000 in state funds.
“I fought for this funding because our local micro-businesses are the backbone of our economy,” he said.
The 18-month-old Farmer’s Restaurant, the lunch-and breakfast spot at 600 Belmont Ave. that Cuevas runs with his wife, Nemesis Rodriguez, received $5,000 from the LEDC’s sixth round of grants, said Andrew Melendez, director of LEDC.
Melendez said the new round of $125,000 grants, followed a series of face-to-face meetings in which experts assessed businesses to identify what they most need to prosper.
“You might have asked for signs, but we are going to help you with a whole marketing plan,” Melendez said. “Tools, training, equipment.”
Perhaps no less valuable were the experiences shared Tuesday at The Farmer’s House. Grant recipients traded stories of their businesses and built customer-vendor relationships.
“If you need your hair done, if you need your nails done, your business painted, a place to eat — (it’s) all here,” he said. “This is Springfield.”
Recipients include Davone Mullen of Mass Housing Connection. He’s a builder and certified excavator who received $4,900 for tools and equipment.
Kayla Santos-Bermudez’s business, Pro Lice Extraction, received a grant. Her business does what its name says — helping customers get rid of the creepy crawlies.
“I get calls from people in tears,” she said. “The kids are in tears. The mothers are crying.”
She provides lice-fighting expertise and treatments for both hair and homes.
Pro Lice Extraction charges customers to deal with infestations. She said her easiest job took an hour and a half. Her longest took 10 hours to rid a home and its inhabitants of lice. Starting next month, she will be charging $120 an hour.
Another recipient in the new grant round was inventor Champ Godbolt, who played basketball — at Holy Cross and overseas after being drafted by the Celtics — and coaches the sport now.
He’s invented Shure Shot, a training device that he said builds the right kind of muscle memory for players.
“I know why players miss,” he said.
