Eminent fronts: Small business program helps Plano businesses spruce up

For both The Chocolate Shoppe and Ultimate Dance on the Move in Plano and Yorkville areas, it’s all about pushing yourself outside your boundaries to unleash your inner-creativity.

Thanks to a little help from the City of Plano, the upgraded buildings housing the businesses are now reflecting the artistry demonstrated inside.

Plano Mayor Mike Rennels said the city’s Facade Improvement Program, which offers a 50% matching grant up to $5,000 to business owners to upgrade their building’s facade, is testament to the community-driven passion that binds all the businesses in Plano’s historic buildings together.

“This year we doubled the amount that’s available to businesses that apply because this program not only creates a positive impact on each business, but the city as a whole,” Rennels said. “We’re hoping to create a bandwagon effect, each time somebody makes an improvement, neighbors can learn and apply themselves. The net result is we have a better looking city.”

Learning the right steps

Now in her ninth year at the Ultimate Dance on the Move studio, owner Cheyanne Diaz is proud that the new electric sign on their building shines as bright as the talents they cultivate in the young dancers they train.

Diaz said the new $7,500 sign was one of the finishing touches their new two-room studio needed to fully feel like home when they moved in last year. She said she heard about the grant program from her mother Nicole Diaz, owner of Possibilities Hair Salon in Plano, who used the program to give her own building a makeover.

“We love being in Plano, I’m a Plano graduate, so it was important to find a location to help us continue growing in the Plano area and continue supporting the community,” Diaz said. “It is fantastic for us to have our first building signage, we’ve been around for nine years and never had a lit-up sign before. It really shows how far we’ve come and what our programming means within our community.”

Ultimate Dance offers classes for ages 2-18 of all levels, in diverse dance styles ranging from ballet, hip hop, jazz, lyrical, and tumbling, along with offering private lessons and birthday party services. The studio supports community events, hosting Girl Scout classes to earn badges, and even holding performances at local nursing homes.

To learn more about Ultimate Dance on the Move, 11000 U.S. Route 34, Plano, and their programs and performances, visit ultimatedanceonthemove.com/plano-studio.

A world of pure imagination

For Andie Groff, owner of both The Chocolate Shoppe and the boutique Main Street Merchants, the beautifying grant program is about imagining a stronger future for both the town and the people who call it home.

“There’s a lot of businesses going under right now, especially small businesses are hurting,” Groff said. “Having these grants available not only helps businesses that maybe can’t afford to upgrade their building, but also gives people a more desirous reason to come to Plano and support our small businesses. The more we improve our buildings’ looks and landscaping, the more it will bring visitors to our town and help our community thrive.”

Groff is using the grants to make $4,500 worth of improvements on The Chocolate Shoppe, including exterior painting, facade repairs and a new sign. She is also investing $3,500 for new signage at Main Street Merchants. Both payments qualified for a 50% rebate from the city.

She said revitalizing the buildings will boost her bottom-line, bringing more curious people in the doors to see all that her businesses have to offer, like Main Street Merchants.

“Everybody that walks in the door is shocked how beautiful the new boutique looks, there’s really nothing like it in the area,” Groff said. “We are housing 23 additional small businesses of artisans and designers under one roof, so by shopping here, you are supporting local artists and crafters.”

She said the same creative flair is cultivated in the classes at The Chocolate Shoppe. The shoppe offers fun chocolate-making classes for kids, teens, adults and whole families.

“It’s a great way for people to see how talented they truly are,” Groff said. “Most people don’t realize we were all born to be creative. Sometimes it takes a class like this to find that creativity, people get so excited while doing it. It’s so nice at the end to see your completed creative vision and know that you made it with your own two hands.”

To learn more about Main Street Merchants, 12700 U.S. Route 34, Plano, visit mainstreetmerchants.net.

More can be learned about the classes and offerings of The Chocolate Shoppe, 12700 U.S. Route 34, Plano, by visiting chocolate-shoppe.com.