Graham Jaehnig/Daily Mining Gazette Carl Rundman, owner of Good Times Music, located on Shelden Ave. in Houghton, stands behind the counter of his music store, the only one between Marquette and Duluth. Good Times Music was awarded a $25,000 Match on Main grant through the MEDC Thursday. Rundman has already done major renovations to his store, and the grant award will assist him in installing new carpeting throughout the business.

HOUGHTON — Good Times Music, in Houghton, was one of 41 small businesses to be awarded grant funding from the state, and one of two in the Upper Peninsula.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday announced that 28 communities across Michigan have been awarded a total of $1,011,057 in grants aimed at supporting small local businesses to create resiliency and strengthen downtowns through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s (MEDC) Match on Main grant program.

Good Times Music, the lone music store in a geographical triangle between Marquette, Duluth, Minnesota, and Rhinelander, Wisconsin, was one of only two Upper Peninsula small businesses to be awarded grants. The other business is the Ore Dock Brewing Company, in Marquette.

Hannah Rundman, the daughter of Bruce Rundman, owner of Good Times, said the grant is targeting interior improvements to the store, which includes the physical structure, displays, and anything else pertaining to the workings of the business.

“The primary goal,” said Carl, “Is to try to improve business.”

Rundman said that part of the equation is that the grantee knows the business is either going to maintain or increase business without having to cut back on employment in order to maintain the physical structure.

“We have three employees,” he said, “and we’ve had three employees for a couple of years now. I don’t see it getting less, ever, and we also have independent contractors that do repair stuff for us, and who are also music teachers.”

Part of it, he explained, is that MEDC is trying to stimulate revenue to keep businesses going.

“The Match on Main grants are helping us put small businesses first,” Whitmer said in a Thursday release, “and build on the 145,000 jobs we added last year by continuing to invest in our communities and main streets across the state.””

MEDC’s Match on Main program provides funding to communities that participate as a select and master-level community in the Michigan Main Street program, or are a Certified Redevelopment Ready community. The communities that receive the grant funding from the MEDC, in turn award grants of up to $25,000 to eligible businesses seeking support. The grants are expected to create or retain 75 full-time and 153 part-time jobs, and the projects are expected to generate a total private investment of more than $1.7 million.

The Match on Main grants may be used by the business for eligible expenses that support technical assistance, interior building renovations, permanent or semi-permanent activation of an outdoor space, permanent or semi-permanent business infrastructure related to COVID-19 recovery efforts, and other working capital needs such as marketing needs and inventory expenses. Additional needs identified by the business and supported by the local community are also considered.

For Rundman, the grant will assist him with installing new carpeting throughout the store.

“You can see how bad it is,” he said. “And there are two more different kinds of carpets, so there are four kinds of bad carpeting that are falling apart and are a tripping hazard on the main level.”

Rundman said he has already done extensive remodeling of the store during the COVID-19 shutdown, and the carpeting will complete the renovation.

Hanna said the store has received a number of improvements since the shutdown, including the construction of a display room devoted to keyboard and digital pianos, as well as display rooms devoted to acoustic guitars and electric guitars and amplifiers.

Plexiglass railings, the addition of a floor and stairs leading to the second level, where Rundman’s office is now located, were included in the renovations.

In March 2021, MEDC announced that 17 communities around Michigan were awarded a total of $500,743 in grants aimed at supporting small local businesses to create resiliency and strengthen downtowns around Michigan. A total of 21 small businesses around Michigan received assistance through the program.

Michigan’s small businesses are a vital part of the state’s economy, employing more than 1.8 million people. Helping businesses to open and grow is a key focus of MEDC, and the Match on Main Street program is one of MEDC’s tools that provides opportunities for new and expanding businesses located in Main Street districts to grow and succeed. For more information on the program, visit here. To learn more about MEDC’s services for Michigan businesses, visit here.