After the judges heard nine business pitches, they awarded first place to Eras Vintage, a resale shop and rental studio.
“I was fully prepared to not win, so I was just kind of shocked,” said Kiley Lee, who will run the business with her husband Royce Lee.
They’re already in the process of renovating the building at 127 W. Calhoun St. It’s the bright green building next to Domino’s – hence the green shirts the Lees. their family members, and supporters wore for the competition’s finale.
Kiley Lee said she has collected vintage items for as long as she can remember.
“I like that they have a story and they’re not like what you would find at Walmart. It’s something interesting and unique,” she said.
Royce Lee said one such item that they recently acquired is a glass cabinet from the train depot that’s being restored in Keokuk.
“They were going to throw it away. Beautiful gold lines, glass cabinets. We were able and fortunate to get them, and we’re really excited to display them out in the shop,” he said.
Eras Vintage will receive $15,000 from the city for winning the competition. They will put the money into their ongoing renovations. They hope to open by late May or early June.
The second and third place winners
The judges awarded second place to Bloom Macomb. The program guide said the florist promises to offer more than flowers and plants – “It will be a place where customers can experience community, creativity, care, and JOY.”
The business also plans to offer a wall for photo opportunities for special life events.
Bloom Macomb received $6,000 for finishing second.
Third place went to Sandra’s Authentic Mexican Food, which will receive $3,000 from the city.
Amay Espinoza of Sandra’s said they have no business background in their family, so the classes they attended as part of the competition were quite helpful.
“This was something really great to see what we needed to improve on or what things we needed to add to our business,” she said.
Sandra’s Authentic Mexican is currently a food truck based in Carthage. They’ve been in business since 2019.
They’re in Macomb several times a month, and Espinoza said their plan is to find a place to rent or lease in Macomb to open a restaurant.
“It’s always been our dream to open up a brick and mortar (restaurant), but we weren’t sure how to proceed,” she said.
They would like to offer dishes that are not found at other Mexican restaurants in the area.
What’s next
Savannah Ballard, Macomb’s Marketing & Downtown Development Director, found the finale of the competition to be a high energy and fun event.
“There were so many brilliant ideas,” she said.
She anticipates the city will host another competition in a few years.
Ballard said this year’s top three finishers are required to open their businesses. They have 13 months to do so.
She hopes the other six businesses also come to fruition.
“All the networking opportunities that they got – not only through the workshops but through the city – I believe that those are going to be awesome opportunities for them to take forward,” Ballard said.
“And we’re most definitely happy to work with those individuals in any other capacity that they need.”
This was Macomb’s second small business competition. Forgottonia Brewing won the first contest in 2018. It opened less than a year later and remains in business today.
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