On November 21st, City Council approved the Office of Business Opportunities Stimulus Program – Grocery Store Incentive. The City of Columbia and Columbia Food Policy Committee continue to research methods to address food insecurities and encourage grocery stores in underserved areas. This new program was created to incentivize new and existing grocery stores to locate within defined corridors in the city. Grocery stores are eligible for a 100% (new) and 75% (existing) rebate of their business license fees each year, for a total of five years.
The designated business areas are located on or within 200’ of these specific corridors and/or districts: Main Street, North Main Street, Two Notch Road, Farrow Road, Elmwood Avenue, Fairfield Road, W. Beltline Boulevard, Colonial Drive, River Drive, Sunset Drive, Monticello Road, Covenant Road, Atlas Road, Bluff Road, Bull Street District (bounded by Harden, Colonial, Bull, and Calhoun Streets). It’s important to the city that our residents have access to healthy food options within the community.