Eastpointe to host resource fair for small businesses affected by construction

EASTPOINTE — The city of Eastpointe is looking to connect with small business owners who are affected by the ongoing construction around the city.

Ian McCain, Eastpointe’s economic development manager, said the city felt a need to support small businesses that are being impacted by the construction.

“We feel the need to make sure that the business owners know that there are resources and that the city is there to support them during this time of construction season that is likely impacting the business,” he said.

Jennifer Moon, a Michigan-based loan officer with CDC Small Business Finance, said her company is working to provide financial support to businesses affected by construction.

“There is help available for small business owners who have been affected by nearby construction projects. We and other lenders are able to provide working capital that will help sustain their operations,” she said in a prepared statement.

In addition to the construction, McCain said a lot of local businesses are facing uncertainty due to events happening at the federal level.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty on what’s happening at the federal level,” he said. “So, I’m sure there’s also some concerns about tariffs, on how those might impact businesses in either a small or significant way.”

McCain also cited industry-specific concerns as a potential source of worry for business owners.

“We have a number of food-based businesses in Eastpointe, so how is inflation affecting their ability to offer reasonable prices to their customers, or having to potentially raise stuff because of inflation or tariffs,” he said.

Besides letting business owners know what kind of support there is in the city, McCain also said he hopes to be able to build stronger connections with them.

“I’m hoping to build stronger and deeper connections with the business owners and the city’s Economic Development Department to make sure that they feel comfortable reaching out to me if they want access to any of the resources after the event as well, or if they have ideas on things that they’d like a little bit more information on that they learned about at the event, or really, any way that the city can continue to support their business after the event, that’s what I’m hoping to do,” McCain said.

He said he hopes to see at least 100 businesses attend the resource fair. He also said more than 30 vendors will be at the event, from financial institutions to business incubators and accelerators.

The event is being held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 30 at Eastpointe City Hall, 23200 Gratiot Ave.