Westland wants more restaurants and better-looking commercial corridors – and the city is offering financial incentives to help make it happen.
One new program offers individual grants for entrepreneurs who want to open a restaurant, while a second program helps business owners fund property improvements.
Both are offered through Westland’s Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and Tax Increment Finance Authority (TIFA), which oversee separate commercial districts.
“We want people to shop and dine locally,” Westland Mayor Kevin Coleman said. “We’ve always had a good history where people from Westland, Garden City, Livonia, Wayne and surrounding communities would come here …
to shop and enjoy a nice meal. So we're trying to retain and strengthen that.
“Local businesses depend on local support, so the city should be a part of that, too,” he added.
Westland offers up to $50,000 to attract new restaurants
Over the summer, the city implemented a new Restaurant Attraction Grant program to entice entrepreneurs to open a new eatery in the DDA or TIFA district.
Alex Garza, Westland’s economic development director, said the program offers up to $50,000 in grant money – potentially more, in certain circumstances – and was created partly in response to research showing residents leave the city to dine elsewhere.
“It’s a very good grant,” Garza said. “We’re doing our best to ensure we're going to restaurants and saying, ‘Hey, if you do locate into the city, you will have (funds) to help with those costs and to be able to set yourself up to start doing business here.’”
The effort comes as the city works to encourage redevelopment of the struggling Westland Shopping Center and revitalize the surrounding area, where several once-popular restaurants now sit empty.
Coleman noted several vacant restaurant buildings among those he’d like to see redeveloped: the former Panera Bread, which later became Antepli Baklava and has since closed; the former Ruby Tuesday near Warren and Newburgh roads, which later became Aubree’s Pizzeria & Grill and has since closed; the former On the Border on Warren Road; and the former Big Boy at Wayne Road and Hunter Avenue.
All four properties are currently advertised for sale or lease.
"There's a high cost for opening a restaurant these days, a lot higher than it used to be," Coleman said. "Part of our economic development strategy is to bring in some help to get people started because while ... there still are a lot of great restaurants here, we have a few pretty prime locations we want to get back open again. So it's something we're prioritizing right now."
How Westland restaurant grants work
The restaurant grant program is available in the city’s DDA district, which covers commercial properties primarily along Ford and Wayne roads, and the TIFA district, which includes the Westland Mall area and portions of Warren and Newburgh roads.
The two authorities have separate boards and administer their own grant programs.
Entrepreneurs opening their first restaurants, as well as established restaurant owners opening new locations or those interested in relocating within the districts, can apply for consideration of a grant, Garza said.
If approved, the funds can be used to reimburse up to 50% of eligible project costs, up to $50,000. The board can approve larger awards, which Garza said could reach $100,000 with board discretion.
The money does come with stipulations: Funds can be used for permanent building improvements like plumbing, electrical work, ventilation and structural repairs, but not for things like furniture, movable kitchen equipment, design fees or property purchases.
Other conditions, including a business plan, construction estimates and a five-year commitment, are listed among requirements.
So far, Garza said, the city has not received any applications for the grants.
Grants help businesses with property improvements
Westland is also helping businesses make improvements to aging commercial properties through its facade grant program, which offers up to $25,000 for exterior renovations.
Since the program’s inception in 2021, records provided by the city show the DDA has awarded 28 facade grants totaling about $409,000. Some business owners have received multiple grants.
Garza said the grants sparked another $750,000 in private investment.
“It goes back to sprucing up our city, making Ford Road look beautiful, making our DDA area look great,” Garza said. “It’s giving these property owners the push they need to make the investment.”
The grants can be used for improvements visible from the street.
Joe Marshall, who owns Photo Joe’s, a longtime photography studio on Ford Road, said he received several grants in recent years, which he used for everything from fencing to roof and parking lot repairs and gutters.
“It’s been huge,” Marshall said. “It helps me out big time, because a lot of the stuff – like the parking lot – I wouldn't have the money to do that on my own.”
Other recipients include, for example, St. John's Episcopal Church and Supreme Air Systems on Wayne Road, who each received grants close to $11,000 in 2025. On Ford Road, Westland Family Dining received approximately $19,000 in 2024, while The Original Dairy Dan received $25,000.
Until recently, the facade grant program was available only in the DDA district, but the city expanded the program to the TIFA district this year, Garza said.
Westland’s adopted 2026-27 budget allocates $150,000 for facade grants through the DDA and another $100,000 through the TIFA.
Rising property values help fund programs
Both the restaurant and facade grants are part of an effort to use money generated within DDA and TIFA districts to encourage additional investment, Garza said.
Both districts use tax increment financing, or TIF.
As property values rise, established districts receive a share of the resulting increase in property taxes, and must spend that money within their districts.
Garza said increasing property values have helped create healthy funds for both authorities.
“We’ve had some great years of property value going up,” he said. “We're capturing those dollars from the tax revenue…and it has created a very healthy DDA fund and TIFA fund. We're looking at that and saying, "Hey, how can we put this money back into our businesses? How can we put this money to best use for our local Westland economy?’”
“And it allowed us to do that in a very big way,” he added. “Millions of dollars in tax revenue that we're able to reinvest into the community directly has been a phenomenal thing.”
Westland’s DDA is projecting approximately $3 million in total revenue for the 2026-27 fiscal year, including nearly $2.2 million in property taxes, or about 72% of its revenue.
The city's TIFA is projecting approximately $4.8 million in total revenue for the 2026-27 fiscal year, including $4.6 million in property taxes, or about 97% of its revenue.
Property tax revenue for both entities is projected to increase 4.6% over last year and another 5% next year, according to the city’s adopted budget.
Contact reporter Laura Colvin: lcolvin@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Westland puts $50K grants on the table to attract new restaurants
