Joliet provides $80,000 on downtown business grants

The city of Joliet has issued $80,000 in grants to downtown businesses to offset revenue losses due to construction.

The grant program was approved in December as business owners contended that the construction of a new city square and an improved Chicago Street drove away customers and choked their revenue streams.

Five businesses, four of them restaurants, have had grants approved by the city. All are located along Chicago Street.

The latest is Internode Greenery and Home, a plant and home decor shop that will get $13,071.

Others getting grants are:

• Cut 158: $25,000

• Juliet’s Tavern: $25,000

• Chicago Street Pub: $11,156

• Mousa Greek Tavern: $5,790

The improved Chicago Street, which is the main street through downtown, and the city square have been welcomed by the business community with expectations that they will bring more people downtown and improve access to shops and restaurants.

The nearly two-year stretch of construction, however, is taking a heavy toll on their income, business owners said.

City officials approved the grant program in large part to ensure the city retained businesses downtown once construction was completed.

Construction, which began in the summer of 2024, is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

“The businesses are staying open,” said Council member Cesar Cardenas, who heads the council’s Land Use and Economic Development Committee.

The committee on Wednesday reviewed the grants issued so far without any objections.

“We’re not getting anybody closing,” Cardenas said. “From that perspective, I’d say they [the grants] are working.”

The grant program provides a business with up to 50% of revenue loss attributable to the construction. Grants for an individual business are capped at $100,000.