Empire Diner receives Morris County Small Business Grant

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Empire-Diner-Small-Biz-9-22-2022-resize — A grant was awarded by Commissioner Shaw along with Parsippany Councilwoman Seth Grannani to Frank Shizas at the Empire Diner.

PARSIPPANY – Two more $15,000 checks went out to small business owners in Morris County this week as the Morris County Small Business Grant program is set to end and close on Friday, Sept. 30.

Morris County Commissioner Stephen Shaw presented the checks yesterday during a visit to the popular Empire Diner and PJ’s Water Supply, a venerable heating and plumbing store on West Clinton Street in Dover that took new ownership three years ago.

“We bought the business in 2019 – before the pandemic – a tough year to start a new business. It was difficult, so we are very grateful for the gift. We’re moving forward with new marketing,” said Holly Masrian, who runs PJ with her brother, John G. Hosking.

A grant was awarded by Commissioner Shaw along with Parsippany Councilwoman Seth Grannani to Frank Shizas at the Empire Diner.

The family business was run by their father, John F. Hosking is arrested. Empire Diner is also a family run business owned by Bobby Shizas.

“Thank you very much for this. It’s very important,” said his son Frank Shizas, noting that the restaurant industry has been hit hard by the epidemic and establishments are still working to recover.

Parsippany City Council Vice President Loretta Grannani along with Commissioner Shaw expressed their support for Frank Shizas at a dinner yesterday.

Morris County County Commissioners will approve 723 applications by the time the program closes for submissions on Friday, Sept. 30, offering grants of up to $15,000 per entity.

The commissioners allocated $10 million to the program, which launched on Valentine’s Day, and designed the grants to help small businesses and nonprofits with pandemic-related expenses such as rent and mortgage payments after March 3, 2021. The Morris County Small Business Grant Program is a special use of federal funds given to the county through the 2021 America’s Recovery Plan Act to provide pandemic relief.

Federal guidelines governing the grant program determine exactly which expenses are eligible for coverage and which applications are approved. The grants are capped at $15,000 per applicant. However, business owners and nonprofit organizations are encouraged to submit applications that include all expenses they believe qualify for the grant, even if the total amount of a single request exceeds $15,000.

A final review may determine that some costs submitted for review are not covered by program guidelines. However, by submitting all eligible expenses, applicants increase their chances of receiving the maximum grant dollars possible.

Click here for more information about the Morris County Small Business Grant Program.