Moon Hill Brewing Check

North Central Mass Development Corp Provides Funding to Moon Hill Brewing Co in Gardner

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The North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation (NCMDC) – the economic development arm of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce – recently provided an Economic Recovery Fund (ERF) loan of $50,000 to Rick Walton, owner of Moon Hill Brewing in Gardner.  The ERF program, funded through contributions received by local community banks and credit unions, was launched by NCMDC to assist small businesses negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Moon Hill Brewing Co. began in 2006 at the brewpub, Gardner Ale House, a long-time staple in the community.  Both are located at 74 Parker Street in Gardner and together serve as the only full-menu brewpub in North Central Massachusetts and Worcester County.  Moon Hill offers 14 craft  beers that can be found on tap at the Gardner Ale House as well as in many local pubs and restaurants.  This loan helped to retain 25 full time jobs and 70 part time jobs.  Moon Hill Brewing, following COVID guidelines, is open for business.  For more information visit www.moonhillbrewing.com/.

As a microloan lender, NCMDC can provide loans to small businesses up to $150,000 for working capital, equipment, inventory, expansion and working with our banking partners to provide gap financing for the final piece of a project. 

 

Moon Hill Brewing Check

Chamber’s Economic Development Arm Closes Out a Successful Year

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Reviewing loan filesThe Chamber’s economic development affiliate, the North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation (NCMDC), completed its fiscal year on September 30, 2020. The NCMDC works in partnership with local banks, credit unions, chambers of commerce and area nonprofits to support emerging microenterprises, small businesses, and community projects in North Central Massachusetts with loans and technical assistance.  The NCMDC provided a total of 47 loans in FY2020 totaling $1,130,401. These included 31 conventional microloans totaling $852,500 and 16 loans under the SBA’s Payroll Protection Program for $277,901. The average size of the loans was $24,051 with the smallest loan at $2,607 and the largest at $54,177. Our conventional microloans were leveraged by another $495,626 in financing from local banks and credit unions and $188,249 in equity from borrowers, and helped retain 169 jobs and create 22 new jobs.  Our PPP loans helped retain another 47 jobs by covering critical payroll and operating expenses to businesses adversely affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic.  During the year, the NCMDC also provided over 1,200 hours of direct technical assistance to start-up and existing small businesses and hosted several successful workshops and forums in partnership with the Chamber. The NCMDC also launched an Economic Recovery Fund to provide emergency loans with $415,000 in contributions and secured grant funding from the state and the Mass Growth Capital Corporation to assist with its efforts to provide technical assistance to small businesses.  The NCMDC is certified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury under the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) program and is a micro-loan intermediary for the U.S. Small Business Administration. For more information on the North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation, please visit www.choosenorthcentral.com.

North Central Mass Development Corp Provides Funding to Three Downtown Fitchburg Businesses

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The North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation (NCMDC) recently approved three loans totaling $55,000 to Strong Style Coffee, Bion Greek Kitchen and Mi Rinconcito Salvadoreno in Downtown Fitchburg.

 

Strong Style Coffee, owned and operated by Kimberly Jones on 37 Boulder Drive in Fitchburg, is a coffee shop that serves as a comfortable space where patrons can be creative and productive during the day and relax and enjoy events and entertainment at night. They offer coffee, pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and have a lunch menu, as well as beer and wine.  Their loan for $25,000 was used to re-finance business debt, and were a referral from NewVue Communities where Kimberly also worked on the financial plan for the loan application. Check out information on their upcoming events on their social media pages, at

https://www.facebook.com/strongstylecoffee/ or on Instagram at strongstylecoffee.

 

Bion Greek Kitchen received a $20,000 working capital loan to assist with operating expenses during the pandemic. Gregor and Violet Labovitis initially operated the business out of their home before eventually growing sales enough to open a physical location on 356 Main St., in Fitchburg. For more information visit their website at bion-greek.square.site or https://www.facebook.com/BionGreek1/?fref=tag.

 

Mi Rinconcito Salvadoreno is a start-up Latin American convenience store on Main St., Fitchburg at the site of the former Shack’s Clothing store. Owner Idelfonso Guzman and his wife Carmen decided to open the store after finding there were no reasonably close options for genuine Latin American oriented groceries in the area. The store opened on July 1, 2020 and features groceries, snacks and other novelties. For more information visit their store on 444 Main St., Fitchburg.

 

As a microloan lender, NCMDC can provide loans to small businesses up to $150,000 for working capital, equipment, inventory, expansion and working with our banking partners to provide gap financing for the final piece of a project.

North Central Mass Development Corp Provides Financing to Pasta Mani in Worcester Public Market

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The North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation (NCMDC) recently approved a $50,000 loan to Jason Midwood owner of Pasta Mani, a start-up fresh pasta restaurant and retailer in the newly constructed Worcester Public Market. 

Jason has over 24 years of experience in the food service industry, including producing fresh pasta for the Ethan Stowell Restaurants in Seattle. Jason is translating this experience to his new restaurant Pasta Mani in the Worcester Public Market making hand made pasta dishes and to-go pasta options. Jason worked with the Small Business Development Center at Clark University on his business plan and projections. NCMDC’s loan was used to fund some kitchen equipment, start-up costs and working capital and was also part of a financing partnership with TD Bank. For more information on Pasta Mani stop by the Worcester Public Market or check them out on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/pasta_mani_worcester/.

As a microloan lender, NCMDC can provide loans to small businesses up to $100,000 for working capital, equipment, inventory, expansion and working with our banking partners to provide gap financing for the final piece of a project. 

North Central Mass Development Corp Provides Financing to Smokestack Roasters in Lunenburg

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The North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation (NCMDC) recently approved a $48,000 loan to Smokestack Roasters, a coffee roaster and retail coffee shop in Lunenburg MA.

Jaclynn and Barry Nicoll have been roasting coffee beans at their home for over three years and decided to scale up their business and open a coffee shop along with a new coffee roaster which will roast coffee beans in the shop. They passionately foster an atmosphere of buying and think-ing local and intend to partner with many local businesses as they ramp up their business. This loan was a referral from the Center for Women & Enterprise and they worked with NewVue Communities on the business plan and projections. This loan went to fund start-up costs and working capital to open the coffee shop. For more information on Smokestack Roasters, visit them on 39 Mass Ave in Lunenburg and check out their Facebook page at https://www.face-book.com/Smokestackroasters/.

As a microloan lender, NCMDC can provide loans to small businesses up to $100,000 for work-ing capital, equipment, inventory, expansion and working with our banking partners to provide gap financing for the final piece of a project.

North Central Mass Development Corp Provides Financing to Popcorn Castle in the Mall at Whitney Field

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The North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation (NCMDC) recently approved a $25,000 loan to Eric Machuca, owner of Popcorn Castle, a start-up popcorn and snack food retailer in the Mall at Whitney Field in Leominster MA.

Popcorn Castle sells traditional as well as specialty popcorn with a wide variety of flavors such a buffalo, BBQ, ranch, etc., and sugary glazes ranging from birthday cake or chocolate to the traditional caramel corn. Popcorn Castle also has many other popular snack foods such as fried dough, churros, ice cream and more. Eric worked with NewVue Communities on the business plan and projections for his new business and this loan was used to fund equipment and start-up costs. For more information on Popcorn Castle stop by the Mall at Whitney Field or check out their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Popcorn-Castle-100106481449563/.

As a microloan lender, NCMDC can provide loans to small businesses up to $150,000 for working capital, equipment, inventory, expansion and working with our banking partners to provide gap financing for the final piece of a project.