Nearly 100 small businesses and entrepreneurs are getting a boost from the city of Detroit and Mayor Mike Duggan as vehicles of new growth.
Ten of them are getting a total of $500,000 in funding to launch or expand in Detroit.
A bridal salon on East Jefferson Ave. is the only one in Detroit. It’s one of 10 recipients of Mayor Mike Duggan’s small business grants, and you might recognize the face behind the venture.
Brides past and present probably know Keasha Rigsby, the compassionate bridal consultant from TLC's ‘Say Yes to the Dress.’
The Brooklyn native now calls Detroit home, and she and her business partner, Vallery Hyduk, want to help brides say yes to their dresses here in the Motor City.
“We want to have brides come to us, and they don’t have to go into the suburbs,” says Rigsby.
Beautiful Bridal on East Jefferson was honored Monday as one of ten recipients of Mayor Mike Duggan’s Motor City Match Grants. The salon will use the $50,000 award to buy more wedding gowns - with big hopes of becoming the bridal and high-fashion destination in the city.
“We had about 200 brides sign up and say they are coming to Detroit with their entourages for a road trip, to buy their gowns,” says Hyduk.
Duggan also awarded nearly 90 other businesses with resources such as business plan help and real estate advice.
“Motor City Match is one piece of a strategy to make business dollars available to anybody who’s got the talent and drive,” says Mayor Duggan.
“I’m just so excited to be here, and I’m so excited to be a part of this great city, I can’t stop saying, great city," says Rigsby.
Beautiful Bridal officially opens February 4th.
If you’re interested in getting a Motor City Match grant, the next round of applications opens March 1st.
