BUDA, Texas — The City of Buda is seeing a lot of growth, but it is still much smaller than its neighboring cities of Austin and Kyle.
That is why, many times, people will live in Buda but head to the other cities for work and leisure. The City has been working to change that.
The Buda Economic Development Corporation (EDC) recently expanded its grant incentive program to help more local businesses stay and grow in Buda. The Buda EDC’s Board President Jennifer Storm said the main goal is to support business owners who either create jobs or unique places for people in the community.
Meridian, a coffee and cocktail bar with live music, just opened three weeks ago on Main Street in Downtown Buda and received a $20,000 grant from the City in the most recent round of grant incentives. It was one of four businesses to receive grants in a recent round of funding. Meridian used the money for plumbing and electricity since its building was built more than 120 years ago.
Travis Sutherland and his wife, Noa, are some of the local business owners making their mark in Buda. Meridian is the third business they have opened, and they said they are excited to see even more new businesses coming to the area. Travis Southerland said he loves to see people smiling when they come into Meridian.
“People are saying this is exactly what Buda needed, which is great to hear because that's what we thought from the beginning,” he said. “So, it's good to have that agreement and that enthusiasm from the local residents, as well as the City.”
Supporting more local business owners like the Sutherlands, who have been investing in the community, is a big focus for Buda’s EDC.
"People really want to stay in our community. They want to come out to eat here, go out for dinner and spend time with friends here in our community, instead of going to our neighboring cities,” Storm said.
With Austin just north on Interstate 35 and Kyle just to the south, the EDC is faced with a challenge trying to get people to spend their time and money in Buda.
"Whether we like it or not, we're a bedroom community of Austin,” Storm said. “And I think we've got a tremendous workforce here. And the more jobs we can create here, the more we can encourage people to actually work here instead of driving into Austin every day."
She said although the EDC welcomes people from out of town to create businesses in Buda, it really wants to help support the people who already live there.
"That's a lot of what we're seeing is folks that already live in the area that have thought, ‘Hey, I've always wanted to start a coffee shop. What if I did it in Buda?’ and then us being able to support them to fulfill that dream,” Storm said.
For the Sutherlands, their renovation of an old building allowed them to create something new, to add to the community they call home.
"We're excited about some of the other businesses that are coming up as well, and we're excited to be a part of this kind of next phase of downtown,” Travis Sutherland said.
The other businesses that received money from the most recent round of grants were Nighthawk Frozen Foods, which has been operating in Buda for years, and two new locally owned restaurants, JParks Saloon and Standard and Taste on Main. Storm said investing in unique local restaurants is a priority for the EDC.
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