Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Small Business Incentives topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Red Lantern Fusion seeks $150,000 MDD grant for Argyle restaurant; board tables decision pending application policy
Summary
Owners of Red Lantern Fusion presented a proposal and asked the Argyle MDD for $150,000 toward a proposed Asian-fusion restaurant; the board voted to table the request to the June meeting while application and incentive policy documents are finalized.
Owners of Red Lantern Fusion — the presenters identified themselves as the Highland Village operators of a boba shop and a husband-and-wife ownership team (co-owner Justin spoke to financials) — presented a development and financing plan for a new Argyle restaurant on the May 1 Argyle MDD agenda and requested a $150,000 incentive from the MDD to assist with build-out.
The presenters described an Asian-fusion restaurant concept combining Vietnamese, Chinese and Korean dishes with modern twists, plus a tea/boba and cocktail program. They said the planned location is an end-cap on a new L-shaped retail building along French Town Road at U.S. 377, including plans for an outdoor patio. Their first-year projections shown to the board estimated roughly $2.0 million in sales and a point-of-sale sales-tax estimate of about 0.25% of sales that the board determined would yield roughly $5,000 in sales tax in the first year (the applicants' projection sheet is in the meeting packet).
The applicants estimated startup costs of about $900,000 for a full interior build-out and said they expect to begin permitting within about a month of financing and that construction could take roughly four to five months with an opening targeted for late in the year (December) or early next year. They estimated employing approximately 42 people (38 hourly staff and 4 salaried employees) and said they prefer to hire locally when possible.
Board members questioned whether the grant was dependent on loan approval; the applicants said they were committed to the project and that the grant was not a condition of moving forward. Board members also asked about encumbrances that deter retailers (the vendor cited lack of second-generation space and franchisee availability as common obstacles) and about how the proposed tenant finish and non-movable improvements would benefit future occupants.
After discussion the board voted to table the request to the June meeting to allow staff to bring forward a standardized incentive application and draft policy for the board to use when evaluating requests. The chair asked for an executive session at the start of the June meeting to discuss the application in private before returning to open session for any action.
Why it matters: The request represents a sizeable targeted grant request from a private restaurateur. Tabling the item will allow the board to consider the proposed application under a draft incentive policy and evaluation criteria the board directed staff to prepare and return at the June meeting.
