Page 6 - Ohio Restaurant Association Industry Awards

Outstanding Public Official
SANDY SPANG
CITY OF TOLEDO
sponsored by
Sandy Spang serves as Commissioner of Business Services for the
City of Toledo. She draws upon her own experiences as a business owner, real estate investor, and former Toledo City Council Member to support entrepreneurs and developers as they create jobs and revitalize property in our community.
Sandy supports the Toledo business community by providing a wide range of services for new and expanding businesses. She conducts predevelopment meetings and aids businesses as they navigate through the licensing and permitting process with zoning and planning, building inspection and the health department.
By building relationships from start-up to scale-up, she is able to connect business owners to city, state and federal incentive programs and community entrepreneurial support partners that can aid their growth.
In May, 2020, Sandy created the Emergency Microenterprise Recovery Grant (EMRG)program, which harnessed one million dollars of Covid-19 Relief funding, to aid microenterprises adversely impacted by the Covid-19 emergency. 237 businesses located in low-to-moderate income census tracts, or owned by a member of a low-to-moderate income household, received a grant of up to $5,000. 77% of the recipients are minority or woman-owned businesses, and the recipients are strongly representative of sectors most severely impacted by mandatory closures and loss of revenue, including salons and barbershops, daycares, restaurants, retailers and other service providers.
To address the challenges which entrepreneurs face in bringing vacant neighborhood retail spaces up to current code requirements, in 2021 Sandy will launch the First Floor White Box Grant program. She believes this will be an important tool in bringing new vitality and economic opportunity to Toledo’s historic neighborhoods. Prior to joining the City, Sandy spearheaded the creation of the Beverly Place Facade Grant. The grant revitalized a retail center in the heart of the Beverly neighborhood, where, in 2009, she opened Plate 21, an independent coffee house inspired by the first Italian cappuccino she experienced while studying abroad in college. In 2018, she and her son, Ben, opened a second location, Plate One, in Downtown Toledo.
In 2013, Sandy ran for Toledo City Council, with the belief that small businesses need representation in municipal government. She served
as an at-large member for six years, winning re-election as the top vote recipient in 2017. In January of 2020, Sandy joined the administration of Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz as the first Commissioner of Business Services.
Sandy feels this is an exciting time and place to be doing this work. In 2021, Toledo was nationally recognized by Site Selection magazine as the number one mid-size city in the country for business investment.
2021
INDUSTRY AWARD WINNERS