“They’ve come from California, New York, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio and other parts of Virginia,” she said.
Stinson said she often asks where customers are from and the answers, sometimes, she said, have surprised her. Everything has been so unpredictable because of the pandemic, but despite that, we’ve had a lot of local customers and a lot of out of state visitors.” We will also be purchasing catering equipment. “We are using it for operating expenses and to purchase other equipment like a bakery display case, an outdoor park bench and a Ninja Blender. “It’s hard for a small restaurant to get started and I am so thankful for this grant,” Stinson said of the VCEDA seed capital grant. She made her plans and within a month went from purchasing the restaurant to opening it.
“I hated to see such a valuable asset in our community close and I made the decision I wanted to bring people back to the downtown area and to give back to the community,” Stinson said. Stinson noted that prior to opening the business as her own, she had always been a loyal customer of the previous restaurant and when it closed, she said, it left a void in the community. “The business projects one full-time and four part-time employees within three years.” “VCEDA was pleased to assist Connie in her new business venture when she decided to purchase and open Stone Cellar Brunch & Clutter,” said VCEDA Executive Director/General Counsel Jonathan Belcher. Her business, Simona Corporation, doing business as Stone Cellar Brunch & Clutter, was a recent recipient of a $6,500 Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority Seed Capital Matching Grant. In December 2020, she took the plunge, bought the restaurant and became a small business owner in her own right, officially reopening the restaurant in January. When the original Stone Cellar restaurant closed in March 2020, Stinson said she began thinking about the possibilities of purchasing the business and opening it as her own. LEBANON, VA – (AUGUST 23, 2021) - For Connie Stinson, opening the Stone Cellar Brunch & Clutter in the heart of downtown Lebanon, Va., was a way she saw to realize her dream of operating a small business, while at the same time giving back to the community.