Late last week, I spoke with the Redevelopment Agency. And they had good news for me. (Though, not as good as I had hoped.)
Free money is, in fact, available to me. But only up to $3,000 and only for storefront improvements such as paint, signage, awning, etc. We might be able to squeeze in the doors in there but not certain.
Unfortunately, improving the exterior of the bar facing the street isn't exactly 100% necessary to open the bar. And just getting the bar open is my major, primary, single-minded focus right now. The guy I spoke with at the Agency was nice and had some good ideas on how to improve the front of the bar; but that part of the bar is kinda gonna get the scraps of the rebuilding fund. If there's anything left at all.
Good news is, I don't need to improve the front of the bar to open and I can use that money from the Agency for improving it later. It's not like it's going away next month. So, this part will probably end up waiting until a couple months after we open.
has anyone thought of maybe collecting donations from the LGBTQ community, not just in Fresno, but all other cities? I'm sure the other bear & leather bars wouldn't mind and it wouldn't hurt to ask. Every little bit counts!
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