Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Janet Herbert of Kenneth Herbert Lumber is ready to bring back the spirit of the old West to Portales through her store on Main Avenue.
Herbert has plans to reconstruct the signage outside of her store to be reminiscent of American frontier-style storefronts and is using local grant money to make the transition.
Herbert is one of six local small business owners to receive grant money from Portales MainStreet's Facade Grant Improvement Program, a program that provides local businesses funding to make building improvements with an overall goal to liven up the Portales downtown area.
The program is sponsored by Xcel Energy through its economic development plan.
Christina Calloway: Portales News-Tribune
CJ's Pill Box Owner Tawnia Gaylor says the Portales MainStreet grant will provide funds for fresh paint and repairs to their drive-up window.
"We're wanting to bring the front of the store back to the original storefront from the 1930s-1940s," Herbert said. "We're going to use shiplap (a type of wood) siding."
Herbert added they were going to add a hanging wooden sign under the store's awning so that people can recognize the store while they're walking on the sidewalk.
"Like the olden days," said Herbert, who has live in Portales all her life and has owned the store with her husband since 1973. She feels grant programs such as these contribute to the pride and heritage of the area.
"We're using it (the grant) to make it look lively," Herbert said. "We want to show people that we're home and we care."
Portales MainStreet Manager Sandy Van Der Veen said the grant program was first initiated in 2005, but has been inconsistent since then.
"It's not an every year thing," Van Der Veen said. "It's when we find funding for it."
But she says it's been beneficial to the community and local business owners because it promotes economic development.
Van Der Veen said they fund 50 percent or up to $2,000 per project. She said some projects are simple and others are using the funds to begin larger renovations.
Christina Calloway: Portales News-Tribune
Fitness and More employee Madeline Love rearranges free weights Tuesday. Fitness and more is one of six Portales businesses to receive grant funding from the Portales MainStreet program for beautification and renovation projects.
"CJ's Pill Box is completely redoing their building," said Van Der Veen about one of the grant recipients. "They're getting fresh paint and they're planning to replace the windows to become more energy efficient."
Van Der Veen says this program is especially important because the money provided to businesses serves as a tool to freshen up their business, which can help attract more customers.
"You need to have a lively downtown to keep the rest of the town alive," Van Der Veen said. "It can't look run-down."
Rosalie Patrick, bookkeeper for CJ's Pill Box, said they are replacing the drive-up window and sprucing up the paint of the front of the building with the money they receive.
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"The drive-up window provides easier access to customers," Patrick said. "This is great. They (customers) will see it as an upkept place. There hasn't been any paint put on this place in 40 years."
Justin Johnson, owner of Fitness and More, said they will be doing new signage as well and changing the exterior lighting of the store to save more energy.
"A lot of times, money is kind of tight with small businesses," Johnson said. "You may be looking at doing small improvements and grants like this could give you the extra money to make it happen."
