Thursday, October 12, 2023–1:14 p.m.
-David Crowder, WRGA News-
Two businesses have received façade grants from the Rome Downtown Development Authority.
Schroeder’s New Deli at 406 Broad Street was awarded a $2,500 grant.
“As you have probably noticed, Schroder’s has new double doors—a new front entrance,” said DDA Design Committee Chair Megan Watters during Thursday’s DDA board meeting. “They replaced the front doors and other miscellaneous things. They asked for $5,000, but we had already given Schroeder’s $2,500 in the last year. So, we decided on $2,500 for this project to even it out to $5,000, which is kind of our maximum number. They’ve done a lot of work over the past year so we thought it was well-deserved, and Schroder’s looks great.
Meanwhile, Rome Barber Studio at 240 Broad Street received a $3,200 grant.
“It’s a new barbershop, and Jamie Gonzalez is the owner,” Watters said. ”He has done a lot to that façade. He requested $5,000 and we decided on $3,200, which is 30 percent of the cost of the exterior work.”
Rome DDA Director Aundi Lesley added that the barbershop has 10 to 12 employees and is busy every time she goes by. Gonzalez had another business in downtown Adairsville but has since moved all his clientele to Rome, in addition to new customers.
The face grant program provides reimbursement opportunities for renovations performed on the exterior facade of buildings located in the downtown area. The project must comply with the Historic Downtown Rome Design Guidelines and the U.S. Department of the Interior Standards.
