PIDC FINANCES THREE SMALL BUSINESSES WITH NEW FEDERAL FUNDING

by PIDCphila
May 19, 2012

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PIDC recently approved low-interest loans to three growing hospitality and specialty food businesses in Philadelphia using new funds it received from the Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Intermediary Lending Program (ILP).  PIDC was selected by the SBA as one of only 20 lending organizations across the nation to participate in the ILP program and was awarded $1 million in funding in late 2011.  PIDC has moved quickly to put these new funds to work creating jobs and supporting small businesses in Philadelphia.  To date, PIDC has approved a total of $415,000 in low-cost financing to support the expansion of three Philadelphia companies:  The Industry, Feast Your Eyes, and The Lore’s Chocolate Company.

The owners of the successful Good Dog Bar and Restaurant in Center City are using ILP funding from PIDC to acquire a former restaurant location in the Pennsport section of the city in order to open a new gastro pub called The Industry. The new restaurant will focus on craft beers and upscale comfort foods, and will create approximately 20 new jobs. 

Feast Your Eyes, a husband-and-wife catering business established in 1982, is using the ILP funding from PIDC to increase the capacity of its facility as an event site by relocating its offices and creating a new pre-event area which allows the company to expand its client base both at its own facility and off-premise event locations.  Feast Your Eyes previously received financing from PIDC to acquire and renovate a vacant factory to house its event venue and commissary.

The Lore’s Chocolate Company, a specialty chocolate maker founded in 1967, will use the PIDC ILP funding to acquire and improve a new building next to its current headquarters and manufacturing location to accommodate expansion.  The new facility will include dry storage, refrigerated storage, and office space and will allow Lore’s to further vertically integrate their business to include ingredient and supply distribution.

These three diverse projects demonstrate the vitality of Philadelphia’s small business economy and PIDC is proud to support the growth of each of these companies with its ILP funding from the SBA.

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