40 Long Island Small Businesses Win $5K Grants

BETHPAGE, NY — Optimum Business and the LIA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Long Island Association, celebrated the winners of the third annual L.O.C.A.L. Small Business Grant program on June 16 during the 2026 Small Business Summit at Optimum’s Bethpage office.

The grant program directly funds 40 small businesses in communities across Long Island, with 20 recipients from Suffolk County and 20 from Nassau County.

Each business received a $5,000 grant through the program, whose name stands for “Lifting Our Community Businesses Across Long Island.” Organizers said two $20,000 grand prize winners will be announced later this summer.

Supporting Long Island’s Small Business Community

Andrew Rainone, senior vice president of national business sales at Optimum, said the program began three years ago with a question about how Optimum Business and the Long Island Association could make a difference in local business communities across Nassau and Suffolk counties.

“There are a lot of ways you can do that, but the fabric of any community is the small businesses and the importance of keeping them in those communities,” Rainone said.

Since the grant program was founded in 2024, Optimum Business and the LIA Foundation have awarded half a million dollars in grants to 90 small businesses on Long Island. With the program now in its third year, 130 businesses will have been impacted overall.

Stacey Sikes, acting president and CEO at the Long Island Association, said the LIA, which has been operating for 100 years, depends on the relationship between small and large businesses to support the region’s future.

“For small businesses, I know it's tough out there,” Sikes said. “I know you have a lot of challenges. The LIA has been around for 100 years, supporting your goals. We're going to continue to be here for [them].”

The application process includes participation from the Long Island Association, the Long Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce. Judges review applicants through a process meant to focus on each business’s plans and needs.

Luis Vazquez, president of the Long Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said business owners should keep building even if they did not receive an award this year.

“Just because you didn't win does not mean you don't qualify,” Vazquez said.

Phil Andrews, president of the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce, said the grant application itself can force owners to think carefully about where their businesses are headed.

“You create your own future every day,” Andrews said. “You've got to scale up, and how you scale up is through relationships, working with the right people, with the right strategy, and you will scale up.”

Grant Winners Look To Grow

Jonathan Ortiz, owner of Creative Focus Designs, a full-service visual communications firm based in Malverne, said he applied because of the chance to connect with organizations that can help small businesses grow their reach.

“I decided to apply for the grant because it's great to be connected with organizations like Optimum Business and LIA Foundation, because through those organizations you're able to further support your business and outreach,” Ortiz said.

Ortiz said the grant will help support future projects and community work.

“It just provides an opportunity for us to fund our projects,” Ortiz said. “We do a lot of work with nonprofits and we support our local community, so for us, it just enables us to better reach out to them as well. It's great to have organizations supporting the work that we're doing.”

For East Northport business owner Justin Rosario, the $5,000 grant came early in the life of his shop.

Rosario, 28, runs North Shore Bicycle Club and said the grant followed a whirlwind few years in the bicycle business.

Rosario began working part-time at a bike shop in St. James in 2023. The owner later told him he was looking to retire and asked whether Rosario would be interested in taking over the business. Rosario agreed and eventually took over the lease, but a change in the building's ownership altered the future of that shop.

“The guy that I signed with had sold the building off to somebody else and it was cheaper for me to open up my own business, as opposed to keep that one up and going,” Rosario said.

The decision brought him to East Northport, where he found a space, came up with a new name and began building the business from the ground up.

The shop has been open for about three months, and Rosario said the money will help with the practical realities of running a young business, from hiring an accountant to purchasing tools that will allow him to complete more repair jobs in-house. He said another priority is continuing to build out the shop itself.

“I'm still building the infrastructure of the shop,” Rosario said. “So, the grant is a big help.”

Rosario, a Sound Beach resident, said he learned about the grant from his mother, who saw the opportunity online shortly after his shop opened. Now, with the grant in hand and a new shop to build, Rosario said the commute to East Northport is worth it.

“I'll make it work wherever I land,” he said.

Local Arts, Media Groups Among Recipients

Other local winners included Sweet Arts of Northport. Founder Lauren Engel said the money will go toward art supplies, inventory and programming, especially classes for children.

“It's going to help us with community outreach,” Engel said. “We're going to be able to do more art classes for the children. But the main thing that we want to use it for is for the art class.”

Chrissy Sampson, director of community engagement at LTV Studios in East Hampton, said the grant is especially important for public access television at a time when cord-cutting has reduced a traditional revenue stream for stations like hers.

“This is really a gift for us,” Sampson said. “We're a small nonprofit corporation, and not a lot of people know about public access television.”

Sampson said public access stations have long relied in part on franchise fees tied to cable service, but that model has been disrupted as more people move away from cable. She said LTV plans to use the money for equipment, editing software and local storytelling.

“It's shrinking faster than anybody even projected, so this is truly a gift that lifts us up at a critical time,” Sampson said.

Sampson said the honor was especially meaningful because of the role local media and local business organizations play in telling Long Island’s story.

“I love storytelling, and Optimum tells stories, and the Long Island Association is Long Island's story,” she said. “It reflects the community, it reflects our priorities, and the people, and it's an incredible honor to be part of this.”

Suffolk County Winners

Big Ruthie’s Soul Food, Inc.— East Patchogue
Bricks and Minifigs West Babylon— West Babylon
Christie Jones Studio
Empire Girls Wrestling Club, EGWC LLC — Islip Terrace
Gema’s Childcare II — Copiague
Great South Bay Dance LLC — Amityville
GrowinShade Plant Shop — Islip
Long Island Publicity Inc. — Hauppauge-based
Lucero Taxes — Patchogue
LTV Studios — East Hampton
Northport Fitness Studio — Northport
North Shore Bicycle Club — East Northport
Panoramica — Peconic
Pride Embroidery — Bay Shore
Save the Great South Bay — Babylon
Southampton Playhouse, Inc. — Southampton
Sweet Arts of Northport — Northport
Three Village Farmers & Artisans Market — Three Village / Setauket area
Tiki Boat Long Island — Port Jefferson
West Door Yoga + Wellness — Bay Shore

Nassau County Winners

All The Right Moves, Ltd. — New Hyde Park
Aydenvision, Inc.
Barber & Beauty Institute of New York — Hempstead
Burger Boys Bar and Grill — Glen Cove
Creative Focus Designs Inc. — Malverne
Dutch Pro Soccer — Port Washington
Franglais Management
Giorgenti New York — Garden City
Helping Hands Psychotherapy, LCSW PC — Rockville Centre
Little Bumble Bee DayCare — Glen Head
MsSauce Plates Culinary Horizon — Glen Cove
My Spectrum Center, Inc. — Port Washington
Black Cap Beverage Company — Farmingdale
Port Washington Adult Activities Center — Port Washington
Press Record Studios — Carle Place
Quilla’s Catering, Inc. — Hempstead
Raices Boricuas Corp — Oceanside
Snacks & Design — Port Washington
Special Treasures Childcare — West Hempstead / Uniondale
The Cooking Lab — Port Washington