This year, 18 local business owners will receive up to $30,000 in grant money from Akron's Great Streets Initiative to update and give their stores a fresh look.  The program was launched last year to help revitalize small business in the "mini-downtowns" of 11 of Akron's older neighborhoods, including Kenmore, North Hill, Ellett and Firestone Park.

Last year 35 business were granted monies for improvements and updates and many local business owners have stated that they look forward to applying for the grant next year, as they are not quite ready for that level of improvement at this time.

For more details on the program, Cleveland.com has a great write-up HERE