H Street Retail Grants And YOU!

Recently, the DC government handed down the third round of retail grants for H Street. These are designed to combat a problem many of us have identified with our revitalized commercial corridors: while we all love paying $10 for beer while surrounded by skinny jeans wearing hipsters, can’t we get a little retail around here? No one wants a Walmart, but it’s a drag driving out to the ‘burbs for everything.

So I poked and prodded a little bit into this program, where the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) doled out $500,000 to various organizations, and one of the folks I talked to was Anna Lappas-Collins, co-owner of Metro Mutts, a grant recipient. Anna’s response was better than anything I was coming up with, so rather than gunk it up with my snark, here’s her explanation of what the H Street Retail grants mean for small businesses.

The H Street Grant is an enormous gift in more ways than one. It represents not just a way to make improvements on the building, but also a way to improve the experience of our customers and employees. Without the grant, we would not have been comfortable investing in the building like we would like to, as our lease is only guaranteed for another two years (plus, we could never have afforded it!). However, with the help of the grant, we’re looking forward to so many improvements, both inside and out.

As much as I hate to say it, there are two big-box pet stores coming soon near both of our locations. We’re hoping that this grant money will help us not only to compete, but also to contribute to a revitalized H Street. I love Tommy Wells’ concept of “five-minute living” and am hoping that this concept isn’t too far off for H Street, Barracks Row, or Pennsylvania Avenue. For a small, family-owned business like Metro Mutts, receiving a grant of this sort helps take some of the financial pressure off while daytime foot-traffic in the area is slow but growing.

H Street is experiencing a revival, and though we are by no means trailblazers in this movement, we were among only a few retailers on the street when we moved in. When we opened our doors, H Street (the actual street) itself was completely torn up and no one was sure if the streetcar would ever run. Everybody said, “Really, H Street? A pet store? During the recession?” It took time, but once we started making a profit we were able to expand. We were able to hire employees and pay them—and ourselves—a decent hourly wage. We also began a dog walking and pet sitting service that serves a huge part of DC. My partners and I all live in the neighborhood (my family and I on 5th & H NE, and my partners, The Hartshorns, on 4th & L NE). I’m proud to say that 95% of our employees and dog walkers live in the District.

We’re also proud to know that what we earn goes back into the local establishments in the neighborhood—where we and our employees live and shop—like the many Barracks Row and H Street restaurants, Joy of Motion, CHAW, Labyrinth, Hills Kitchen, Bonnie’s Dog Grooming, AtlasVet, HomeBody, Bikram Yoga, Monkeys Uncle, Pound, P&C Market, and Sidamo, just to name a few. We have never turned down a Capitol Hill school for a donation to their fundraisers, and we donate to many other local causes both pet-related and non pet-related.

So how exactly are we going to use the money? We plan to replace the windows and repaint the outside of the building, which will improve the appearance of the whole block. The new windows will open, allowing us to let in fresh air, and will have a UV protectant so that we won’t lose merchandise displayed in the window to fading. We will also get rid of the huge, ugly, outdated security gate.

We have high hopes to fix our front door. At this point, there are actually two doors and a step, which make entering the building difficult for strollers and impossible for wheelchair users. We may not be able to easily fix this problem, but we hope to try.

Our A/C unit is also outdated and doesn’t function well, leaving customers and employees upstairs sweltering, while the Spot On Training studio in the basement freezes. I feel incredibly guilty when I come in and my staff is covered in sweat, heaving forty-pound bags of food around!

One of the changes that will have a huge impact on customer satisfaction is our new point of sale. Right now, everything in the store runs on one computer—sales, inventory, ordering, receiving… everything. This is frustrating for everyone. With a new point of sale, we will have a second register, making the lives of our customers and employees much easier. Not only that, but we will own the hardware, which we currently rent, saving us some money each month.

When a small business like Metro Mutts earns this sort of grant money from the City, it returns to the community ten-fold, through our great customers and employees and through the improvement of the place itself. I’m positive that this grant will help us (and the whole neighborhood) brace against the chain store competition that is looming.