Function Coffee Company seeks $35,000 Pioneer grant; board postpones public hearing to April 1

Function Coffee Company representatives presented a Pioneer Grant application to the EDC and CDC for a combined $35,000 award to support a roastery and café in Northlake Commons. Staff described the application as intended to encourage sales-tax-generating businesses and said the applicant estimated initial annual taxable sales of about $600,000 and an estimated payback to the development corporations of roughly 7.8 years.

Presenters described two related LLCs: one for roasting and one for the cafe. They told the board the cafe space is under construction, they expect to employ 6 to 12 people across cafe and roastery operations, and they plan a soft-launch in May with construction finishing in mid-April. The applicant said roasting operations have grown quickly through pop-ups and e-commerce and that bringing roastery functions to Northlake would support local branding and wholesale opportunities.

Board members asked clarifying questions about the lease structure, projected sales, payback assumptions and whether the grant funds would be used for cafe or roastery build-out. Nathan told the board the original application paperwork was written for the cafe; the presenters said they wanted to shift some proposed grant-supported work to a roasting facility. Because the application name and tax numbers required correction, the board postponed the public hearing and consideration to the April 1 meeting and instructed staff to work with the applicant to update the application and tax projections. The EDC and CDC each voted to postpone.

No grant award was approved at the meeting; staff said the board may reconvene with updated materials and a public hearing at the April meeting.