MUSKEGON, Mich. — Greg Maki knows the last few months have been difficult for small businesses in the City of Muskegon due to COVID-19.
But at his business, workers are just trying to keep up, and Wednesday a line of customers wanting to purchase medical and recreational marijuana were waiting in their cars at Park Place Provisionary.
"I feel like we were blessed to be open during these troubling times," Maki said.
Park Place Provisionary was able to stay open as an essential business. The company was able to adapt to serve customers.
For now customers can not enter the store. Orders are placed online, customers picking up their orders in the parking lot outside Park Place Provisionary.
Maki plans to celebrate the one year anniversary of his business in June by giving ten $1,000 checks to the owners of other Muskegon small businesses.
"I feel blessed that we were deemed essential," Maki said. "It's been good for us and so we just want to help the other small local city of Muskegon businesses."
The money is a grant, not a loan, and it doesn’t have to be paid back. It can be used for whatever the business owner needs to help with its comeback. All businesses with less than 25 employees can apply but those business must be located in the City of Muskegon.
Maki and a group of community leaders will review the applications and announce the winners on June 19, the provisioning center's one-year anniversary.
"$1,000 is not a lot anymore but ya know it helps," Maki said.
The online application for the grants is available on Agri-Med's website.
Maki says is his way of helping other businesses that have closed or dramatically reduced operations because of COVID-19.
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