Rep. Mikie Sherrill chooses Boonton's Main Street for latest small-business walk
William Westhoven
BOONTON — Rep. Mikie Sherrill started her latest small-business walk Thursday morning where many locals and shoppers begin their trips to Main Street: the Boonton Coffee Company.
Owner Frankie McDonald happily offered to caffeinate Sherrill, D-Montclair, and her staff. His business, which opened in 2016, has grown enough that he's trading in the lease on his 2,000-square-foot, two-story space for the 5,000 square feet he purchased two doors up on Main Street.
"Boonton looks great," Sherrill said as she made her way up to Chili Willie's, which has operated for nearly three decades downtown. "The storefronts are decorated, and it's a wonderful place to do some last-minute Christmas shopping."
Renovations already are underway for a bigger Boonton Coffee in the building formerly occupied for decades by Bob's Men Shop. That business closed three years ago. But owners of restaurants, salons, arts and dance galleries, boutiques and other newer businesses in town say Main Street may be nearing its potential as a dining, entertainment and shopping destination.
"This is a great town to begin with, but there's so much more potential," McDonald said. "There's so much happening. The town's been active. They just bought the [Darress] theater. There are new development properties in town. It's an exciting time."
Sherrill was accompanied by Mayor Richard Corcoran.
"It's an opportunity for the congresswoman to get feedback from our small-business owners, how they're doing and how the federal stimulus and other programs have helped them," Corcoran said.
The stimulus and other federal programs have been "one of the key pillars of how our small businesses have made it through COVID," Sherrill said. "It was our intent that as we faced the economic crisis created by COVID, instead of seeing businesses go under and having to rebuild from scratch, we would keep our existing small businesses intact and connected to their employees by paying payroll."
"I think as a community we recognize there's a lot of value in these federal programs," Corcoran said.
Mayor Michael Stanzilis of Mount Arlington was also there to help Sherrill tout the recently announced Morris County Small Business Grant Program, funded by the American Rescue Plan. The Morris County Board of County Commissioners said it will dedicate $5 million for that recovery program.
The Morris County Chamber of Commerce is coordinating outreach to potentially eligible businesses, including entities that may not have traditionally sought government grant funding in the past.
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Stanzilis was with Sherrill in his role as the chamber's vice president of membership and government affairs.
"The program will be rolled out in the first quarter of 2022," Stanzilis said. "Up to $15,000 for qualifying businesses in Morris County."
Mickey Chopra bought Vinnie's Pizzeria six years ago and has thrived since transforming it into a two-storefront eatery, i2i Indian to Italian Fusion. Now he's thinking about opening another Main Street eatery.
"With the transit hub coming, redevelopment coming, more housing coming, that attracts a lot of people from outside of Boonton," said Chopra, whose restaurant was featured this year on "The Dr. Oz Show." "And we have a lot to offer. We can get Boonton better and better by sharing our experience and expertise on the street."
William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com Twitter: @wwesthoven