DOVER – A downtown Dover boutique is one of only 67 small businesses across the U.S. awarded a HartBeat of Main Street Grant from Main Street America and The Hartford insurance company.
The grants, which range in size from $5,000 to $15,000, aim to help brick-and-mortar small businesses in historic downtown commercial districts adapt to the challenges of running a business amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tina’s Timeless Threads, 111 West Loockerman Street, will use the grant to install a computerized point-of-sale inventory management system and develop its own e-commerce website. Owner Tina Hudson-Beamer said she currently sells in-store and on several third-party e-commerce sites.
Hudson-Beamer, who has a background in retail and fashion, opened her shop in June 2019. She sells vintage and vintage-inspired clothing, jewelry and accessories for women and men.
“Downtown Dover is a great place to have a small business and we’ve received tremendous support from our loyal customers since opening here,” Hudson-Beamer said in a statement.
Hudson-Beamer is an active part of Dover’s downtown business community, said Diane Laird, executive director of the Downtown Dover Partnership.
“Tina hosts musicians in her store and keeps her store open late during our First Friday events,” said Laird in a statement, who wrote a letter of recommendation in support of Hudson-Beamer’s grant application. “Because she sells such a unique assortment of clothing and accessories, her shop has helped attract people to downtown Dover from well beyond the area.”
“She’s also an upbeat person and a delight to work with,” Laird added.
Dover is one of four fully accredited Main Street communities in Delaware. Delaware on Main, within the Division of Small Business, serves as the statewide coordinator in Delaware for the National Main Street Center’s efforts to revitalize and preserve the nation’s downtowns, main streets and commercial corridors.
Patty Cannon, coordinator of Delaware on Main, said the collaboration between Hudson-Beamer and the Dover Downtown Partnership is “a great example of the power of our local Delaware on Main entities helping small businesses within our commercial corridors to survive and thrive.”
“From helping create outdoor dining and curbside retail to delivering safety kits and finding access to capital, these organizations help make their communities more vibrant places to live, work, shop and dine,” Cannon said.
To learn more about the Delaware on Main program visit delbizonmain.com
