COBSON, Ky. – The City of Covington Incentive Program was established to attract small businesses and helps them support them as they run and operate.
The city says it has managed to give Covington a reputation that is friendly to small businesses.
The chocolate shop owner uses it saying they couldn’t find anything like this anywhere else.
Paul Picton has been on an interesting career path for many years, from selling jet engines to selling chocolates.
“I was always on a trip, I would take chocolate home, and when I left the business world, I used up a few weeks later and started making it at home.
Maverick Chocolate has been at Findlay Market in Cincinnati for 11 years. There was also a store in Norwood, but Picton said the business was recently “essentially kicked out” of the space. He knew that a small business friendly community wanted to become his new home for sweet treats.
“Covington is one of the few communities that offer all sorts of incentives to small businesses,” Picton said.
He is taking advantage of two Covington Small Business Incentive Programs. The first helps rent up to $6,000 in the first year.
explained Patrick Duffy, business retention and expansion manager for Covington’s economic development.
“We want them to focus more on growing their business and expanding their business, and on earning rent each month,” Duffy said.
The second program aims to support its historic building, one of Covington’s finest assets. This is for owners of buildings who are always business owners, but often not.
In the case of Maverick Chocolate, in addition to the chocolate shop, Picton bought a building that would become a chocolate factory. He said the 60-year-old building was an eye-catching eye, and he was using his funds to say “clean.”
“Covington has a really rich history here, so it helps to maintain it. Honestly, these older buildings need some work. They are great, they are really strong bones, but sometimes they need to love a little bit to make them more attractive,” Duffy said. “What we want to do is help them pay up to 50% of the project, up to $6,000.
Since 2017, there have been four rounds of these incentives per year. The latest featured West Sixth Brewery, a CPA, Maverick chocolate.
“When you move to a new space, there is always some pain, and rent subsidies in the first year really help you because it takes time for people to know where you are.
Duffy said it was helping the city revitalize its overall.
“It brings a lot of business and Covington makes it a place where people really want to work, they want to enjoy their leisure time,” he said. “Small business owners make up our city identity, and they really give us a lot of our characters.”
All programs are refund-based. Once a company signs a lease, they can submit the invoice to the rental, and Covington will refund half of the monthly fee up to $500 a month for the first year, totaling $6,000. The Facade Grant will refund half the project’s costs up to $6,000.
