Tour Around Town - Community Capital Fund

Spring 2009
Stimulating Cuisine...CommCap Style
In November 2008, the new Épernay Bistro opened its
doors in Bridgeport, inviting patrons to step into a stylish
and mouth-watering world of fine dining. Inside, guests
find appealing urban decor and a menu full of French culinary delights like Citrus Cured Salmon.
From floorless
to fabulous. After a complete
rehabilitation
by developer
Darren Ebron,
1459 Stratford
Ave. welcomes
its first tenants
Tour Around Town
On March 8, 2009, The New York Times rated Épernay
“GOOD,“ called the Pork Chop Milanese “delicious,”
and reported: “With whimsical lighting, a comfortably
cushioned lounge area and a great color scheme,
Épernay manages to be elegant, casual and cozy,
all at the same time.” “It is helping Bridgeport build a
brighter image as a pretty good deal.”
Located downtown, the restaurant adds even more flare
and flavor to an increasingly vibrant block of Fairfield Avenue. Once a rubber stamp company, the space was a
blank canvas for Épernay chef-owner Peter Wroe, who
rents an apartment right above the restaurant.
“I knew I would be spending a lot of time here,” Peter said.
And indeed he has: from the first day of demolition in May
2008, to the final décor touches. Today Peter’s busier than
ever. With business better than expected, Peter expanded
his hours in December by introducing a lunch menu.
CommCap’s annual tour gave board members, partners and
prospective funders a chance to see, touch and even taste
the impact that CommCap makes in the Greater Bridgeport
area. On October 22, a dozen of CommCap’s constituents
boarded a bus, provided by the Greater Bridgeport Transit
Authority, and set out to visit eight of CommCap’s active
borrowers. From the pumpkin light Halloween products of
Howler Brands to the state-of-the-art exhibits created by
Innovative Display, the diverse businesses demonstrated
CommCap’s broad reach and results.
The tour began with bagels and coffee at the newly expanded Rainy Faye Bookstore, and concluded with Cajun pizzas at Two Boots of Bridgeport, where Bridgeport
Mayor Finch shared about CommCap’s important role in
supporting small business and housing and economic developments in the City.
“I always find it so fascinating to learn about interesting businesses right here in our backyard and
today certainly enlightened me to some I was not
aware of. I commend you for the good work that
Community Capital Fund does and the invaluable
role you play…and I know the businesses that you
help are so thankful to have you as a resource.”
Karen DelVecchio, Vice President, Bridgeport Regional Business Council.
Peter found CommCap online while looking for lenders. “I
spoke with a bank, but got better results from CommCap,” said Peter, who used a CommCap loan to bring
Épernay to fruition.
For CommCap, investing in Épernay simply made sense:
CommCap already lends to a number of other businesses
in the area; and Wroe’s vision for the French Bistro was
appetizing indeed.
Community Capital Fund • 177 State St., 5th Floor • Bridgeport, CT 06604 • (203) 332-7977 • www.CommCap.org
Executive Director’s Message
The current economic climate certainly poses challenges for
both the City and CommCap. Looking on the bright side though,
new opportunities have emerged. While foreclosures are unfortunate, they have created significant property availability. This,
combined with a decrease in housing prices, makes now a great
time for investors to acquire and repair multifamily buildings.
The challenge for CommCap is finding the capital to lend for the
impending wave of acquisitions and rehab. We, too, have been
affected by the credit constriction and are finding it difficult to
borrow funds. Additionally, state housing programs have been
eliminated as a result of the budget crisis.
CommCap will continue to seek capital from banks and various federal programs. There are funds in the federal stimulus
package before Congress that could help us meet the demand
for affordable housing. You can be certain we will continue to
aggressively seek out the capital needed for us to be
the conduit for small businesses and housing investors looking for capital. Money that will continue to
stimulate growth in our community through the
innovation of our borrowers.
The Green Team
Jobs: traditionally dubbed “blue collar” or “white collar;”
today a new color collar is growing in Bridgeport…green!
Through the work of Greater Bridgeport Community Enterprises (GBCE), people with and moderate incomes are
being trained and employed in green jobs - a fast growing
and well-paying sector focused on environmental sustainability, energy conservation and pollution remediation.
Established in 2007 with a grant from ABCD, the Green
Team, as the GBCE is called, and the need for it, are growing fast. The energy crisis and environmental concerns
have spurred greener more sustainable developments
and remediation projects – efforts that will need qualified
workers.
Pumpkin Light. Pumpkin Bright.
Pumpkins and costume parties. Ghosts and goblins. Cobwebs and candy. Spooky fun and….FIRE? The facts are
alarming. During the Halloween and Christmas holidays,
candles cause more fires than during all the other days of
the year combined. In a three-year study of the Halloween
season, the US Fire Administration reported 15,000 fires
that caused $ 92 million in damage, multiple deaths and
more than 150 injuries. Equally disturbing, the number one
cause of injuries on Halloween Night is accidental falls.
Howler Brands is changing all that. Established in 2004
by Paul Cayton, Howler pioneered the Pumpkin Light, a
battery-operated flame-free light to replace candles, and
their hazards, in jack-o-lanterns, luminaries and other Halloween displays. Today, Howler has expanded to more
than 100 safe and fun holiday products that can be found
in stores across the country; Howler’s Rainbow Pumpkin
Light is America’s #1 selling Halloween item.
Despite Howler’s enormous success, Paul and his business partner had trouble finding the financing they needed
to expand their inventory and develop new products.
“Our goal is to lift families to self-sufficiency and financial
stability,” said Adrienne Houël, GBCE founder and Program Manager.
“We met with every bank in the area,” Paul explained, “but
we were left hanging. They made a lot of promises, but
when it came down to it, none of them were able to do
what CommCap did.”
Already the Green Team has trained workers in lead and
asbestos abatement, and recently graduated its first class
of weatherization technicians.
What CommCap did: provide a line of credit that, according to Paul, is “paramount to the growth of the company.”
At the end of 2008, CommCap provided GBCE with a
$50,000 line of credit. “The line of credit means we won’t
have an interruption in our activities,” said Houël.
The GBCE loan is one of CommCap’s many bridge loans
to non-profits - loans that help an organization financially
bridge the gap between first being awarded a grant and finally receiving the funds. In addition to assisting the Green
Team, recent CommCap loans are helping MACH and
Original Works continue their community programs.
Located on Barnum Avenue, Howler Brand’s headquarters
is ready to increase its products and sales. “The only thing
keeping us from taking it to the next level is capital.” With
CommCap’s continued support, Howler Brands hopes to
expand into other seasons, continuing its mission to make
Halloween, and every holiday, a flameless, safer, more fun
experience for families worldwide.
“Everything CommCap said they would do, they always did.”
Visit Community Capital Fund’s new Web site
www.CommCap.org