Small grants come to the aid

Future commerce received a boost last week when the Terrebonne Economic Development Authority delivered grants to three minority-owned businesses.

Using a $50,000 donation received from the Foundation for Louisiana, TEDA’s board of commissioners offered more than $4,000 each to Big Mike’s BBQ, La Joya Y El Encanto and UGAM3.

Big Mike’s BBQ owner Mike Lewis explained that with the opening of a new location last month on Barrow Street, customer demand had grown to the level that he needed an automated potato peeler. “It doesn’t sound like a big deal, but we peel about 120 pounds of potatoes a day by hand,” he said.

A new peeler will help the restaurateur reduce a 90-minute process to a matter of minutes while making more productive use of employees and saving labor costs.

La Joya Y El Encantois is a grocery store located on Grand Caillou Road, catering to Hispanic clientele. Owner Josefina Fondau said she wants to add a small restaurant to the existing business and develop a point of sale system for the market.

Fondau said that without the grant she would not have been able to afford quality software for her point-of-sale endeavor. “We want to be prepared for this restaurant [too], because we know we are going to grow,” she said.

While Lewis and Fondau conduct business in long established categories, UGAM3 owner Debra Diehi launched her high-tech entertainment store on Park Avenue as a futuristic idea.

Diehi said she had difficulty satisfying bankers with her business plan for opening and expanding a computer gaming center. “There are a lot of gaming centers [across the country] just not in Houma yet,” she said. In addition to providing a location where patrons pay to play computer games, UGAM3 also offers tutoring services.

TEDA CEO Steve Vassallo said delivery of these three grants demonstrates greater effort being made to boost business on the east side of Houma.

In other action, TEDA commissioners accepted entering into an economic sister city alliance with Weihai, China. The matter will now go before the parish council for approval. “If the parish council does not vote in favor of this, it is dead,” TEDA Board Chairman Don Hingle said.

Councilwoman Katie Sims commented on the aggressive pursuits undertaken by TEDA during the past six months and said it is gaining positive attention from various state agencies and businesses. “This is definitely putting TEDA back on the map,” she said.