A vacant storefront on Main Street in Wellsville will be occupied with a new business in the coming months. The village board Monday night voted to approve a $30,000 loan to From The Hart. The new business will be located at 108 North Main Street. For those with some Wellsville roots, it's the former Searles News Stand. The loan will be administered through Alfred Housing. Robert Sobeck, Executive Director, said the loan is for 10 years at 2% interest. Sobeck said this is the second vacant storefront to be filled so far this year and he said this morning that "more are coming." The loan was made to Hart's Delight's LLC, owned by Jerome and Nancy Hart.
In a statement to Wellsville Regional News today, Mayor Randy Shayler said "proceeds of the loan will be used to acquire equipment and
inventory and to make building modifications for their Custom Engraving retail
operation to be located at 108 N Main St in the Village of Wellsville. The
Harts are established Wellsville business owners (Hart Memorials). They are repurposing a vacant property in the
heart of downtown Wellsville, and their unique product line will draw
additional retail traffic into the area.
Obviously we are very pleased to participate in this Main Street growth,
and we encourage others to take advantage of our business-friendly downtown
opportunities."
"We want to help make Wellsville great again," is what Jerome (and Nancy) Hart said this morning during a sit down interview with Wellsville Regional News. Both have deep heritage in the local community. The new business will feature custom laser engraving on anything from glass to wood and beyond. "Nancy and I are fulfilling a long time dream of operating a gift retail shop on Main Street," Mr. Hart said.
He also said that about half of the retail space will also be dedicated to Irish import products, which he hopes will draw in customers from Hornell, Olean and Pennsylvania. He noted no such product line is available in the regional area. Hart said seven contract workers have been busy since November revamping the retail space and the second story apartments. He said he anticipated the store opening by early summer. The Harts plan to hire a number of retail associates to operate the store, which will be open six days per week and at least one evening. He also said that as the weather improves, workers will create a new Main Street appearance for the property.
Sobeck said the loan fund still has about $60,000 available and he encouraged startups or existing businesses that want to make improvements to consider the program.
