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New downtown businesses draw praise; city’s redevelopment fund nearly exhausted for business grants amid rising demand
Summary
Keeper Coffee and Free Family Brewers were introduced to the Milwaukie City Council, which also received an MRC update reporting 19 business improvement grants issued and a likely request next quarter for additional grant funds.
Two new downtown businesses — Keeper Coffee and Free Family Brewers — were formally welcomed at the Milwaukie City Council meeting, and councilors and staff used the appearance to highlight downtown economic activity, safety concerns near the bus mall, workforce development opportunities for youth and the status of the Milwaukie Redevelopment Commission business grant program.
Mayor Lisa Beatty and councilors introduced Britney Huff, owner of Keeper Coffee, and Rudy Kellner of Free Family Brewers. Huff described opening Keeper’s Milwaukie location after years in food service and said the shop has quickly become a neighborhood gathering place. Kellner said Free Family Brewers had waited 13 years to open a second location and praised the community response and city staff assistance. Both owners described strong customer demand and staffing challenges during the opening weeks.
Councilors asked how the businesses are connecting to young people and to families. Huff said Keeper is planning weekday morning children’s reading sessions that pair child-friendly pastries with story time and play elements; Kellner said Free Family Brewers has experience in Hood River hiring local high school students for entry-level roles and hopes to replicate that recruitment locally.
Public safety and operations also came up in the discussion: Kellner and Huff reported a few security incidents near their south/west corner locations on Main Street and said they have worked with the Milwaukie Police Department and plan modest physical improvements — decorative fencing on the south and west sides — to provide separation and customer comfort. Kellner credited the city’s community resource officers and named staff who had assisted with permitting and operations.
Council members used the appearance to signal support for business retention and to ask what the city could do: owners asked for continued open lines of communication with staff and responsive public safety support; Kellner praised city responsiveness in permitting and coordination for events such as Milwaukee Fest.
City redevelopment staff reported that the Milwaukie Redevelopment Commission’s (MRC) business improvement grant program has issued 19 grants and has five applications pending. MRC staff said the fund’s revenues have exceeded expectations this year (about $1.0 million collected against a $790,000 projection for the same period) and that the MRC budgeted $600,000 for the grant program and is nearly expended. Redevelopment staff and the advisory committee recommended moving from a multi-year lookback to a 90‑day lookback for reimbursing prior work and that the anti‑displacement portion of the program be rebranded (staff suggested “legacy business consulting support”) to increase uptake.
MRC staff said the commission is likely to request additional appropriation for the business improvement grants in the next quarterly budget amendment to maintain program momentum. Staff also noted that a planned capital outlay budget (about $4.7 million) will largely not be invoiced until the next fiscal year, which affects year‑end accounting.
No formal council action was required to welcome the businesses. Redevelopment Commission minutes and routine MRC items were approved in a separate commission session.
