COCOA, Fla. — As businesses work to recover from the impact of the pandemic, the city of Cocoa is investing in a pair of small businesses that will also be giving back to the community.

The first two businesses for the Upstart Cocoa Minority and Small Business Program were selected by the city and the Diamond Square Redevelopment Board.


What You Need To Know

  • Upstart Cocoa awards its first two $10,000 grants

  • Businesses chosen will go through business mentorship program

  • Grant recipients will also need to reinvest in the community

Mike Blackwell said he and his family were “elated” when they learned that their new business, Chef’s Kitchen, would be receiving a $10,000 grant awarded by the city.

“Not to toot my own horn, but everybody loves the food, everybody loves my cooking,” Blackwell said Monday about receiving the grant. “So, it was a good thing.”

Blackwell said his passion for cooking goes back to when he was a kid and learned from his mother and grandmother.

“I always wanted to learn how to cook — enjoyed cooking, loved cooking and watching the cooking channel when I was a kid, writing down all the recipes and ingredients and begging my mom to go to the store and get them so I can learn how to do certain things,” Blackwell said.

Earlier this year, Blackwell bought the China Dragon restaurant on Clearlake Road and said he wants to make Chef’s Kitchen into a fusion of both soul food and Asian cuisine. 

So far, $2,500 of the $10,000 has been awarded, which will go toward a business mentorship for Chef’s Kitchen through weVENTURE. Samantha Senger, a spokeswoman for the city of Cocoa, said participation in that program is a core tenant of the Upstart Cocoa initiative to make sure businesses are successful.

“Once they complete that program with weVENTURE, then they can come back to (the city) council and request the remainder, $7,500 of the grant, can be requested for the Upstart program,” Senger said. 

Part of receiving the grant is giving back to the community using part of the grant money. Blackwell said part of his plan will be to educate the community on the history of cooking in the Black community, going back to the start of founding of the country. 

He also wants to serve as a cooking mentor for children and adults who want to learn more about cooking soul food. 

“We want to teach, we want to share, we want to get the whole community involved, especially the Baby Boomers. Those are the ones who always go out to eat,” Blackwell said.

Diamond Square investment

The other $10,000 grant was awarded by the Diamond Square Redevelopment Board. One of the requirements for this recipient was that they had to either create or grow their business within the historic Diamond Square neighborhood.

Purvette Bryant was chosen for this grant. She started Strategic Capital Consulting Inc. as a home-based business and said she was excited to expand into a new building space.

“Up and down Magnolia Street, this is now Stone Street, we had Black businesses when I was growing up here nearby and we want to bring that back to the city of Cocoa,” Bryant said.

Part of her business’s grant will go toward refurbishing and remodeling the building at 373 Stone Street, so that not only her business, but others too, can make use of that space.

“It was going to be demolished, but my family and I were able to save it from demolition and we want it to thrive and turn it into something really good for the community,” Bryant said.

In selecting Bryant’s business for the grant, Tracy Moore, the chairman of the Diamond Square Redevelopment Board, said having someone who grew up in the neighborhood was a big plus for them.

“(Bryant) has a vast knowledge of the neighborhood, local and important connectivity to grow a successful business," Moore said. "The business is centrally located in an already busy corridor, has the advantage of ‘boots on the ground’ to serve as a catalyst for other business opportunities in Diamond Square."

Bryant said she hopes to have the work needed on the building done for her to move in during the month of November, and said by the end of the year they will be open for business.