ROCKLAND, Maine — Two city businesses will each receive $50,000 from the state to help them expand.
The Maine Department of Economic and Community Development has awarded the city $100,000 from the Community Development Block Grant Microenterprise Assistance program to support Midcoast Music Academy and Bixby & Co., according to a news release issued by the city.
Rockland Community Development Director Audra Caler-Bell said the grants are contingent on the businesses each adding two employees.
The music academy, located on Main Street, will use its money to expand studio space in the section of the building it rents at the intersection of Park Drive.
The for-profit music school currently serves 85 private students through group workshops and programming. The school has a waiting list of 35. The grant will allow the academy to add as many as three full-time and three part-time instructors to serve up to 280 students.
Bixby & Co., a wholesale chocolate manufacturing company, plans to use its grant to fund a national launch of its product. The firm seeks to distribute Bixby Bars through Whole Foods Markets in 200 stores in regions of the country where they are currently not available.
“Both of these businesses reflect a trend in Rockland that is important for the long-term sustainability of our local economy: entrepreneurs who are choosing Rockland as the place to start their businesses,” Caler-Bell said. “Rockland has a long tradition of successful small-business people; it’s exciting to see businesses like MCMA and Bixby join their ranks.”