Legacy Business Fund

Legacy Business Fund is sponsored by City of Boston, Economic Opportunity and Inclusion. Provides financial support to historic neighborhood businesses to help them address short- and long-term needs.

Legacy Business Program | Boston. gov Official websites use . boston.

gov Get direct answers to your questions about City of Boston services, programs, and information. While we strive for accuracy by sourcing directly from Boston. gov, our search can occasionally provide unexpected results.

You can help us improve by using the feedback buttons below each answer. Questions? Contact us at digital@boston.

gov . Please note: AI-generated responses may contain errors, including about real people. Please verify important information before acting on it.

Resident parking stickers How do I pay a parking ticket? What is my trash pickup schedule? How do I get a resident parking sticker?

Each year, the Legacy Business program celebrates 30 long standing, independent enterprises that make a strong contribution to community character. Legacy Businesses have been located within the city of Boston for at least 10 years and contribute to the cultural, historical, and societal fabric of their community or neighborhood.

With increased visibility, our goal is to ensure that these Legacy Businesses can: keep residents employed, and enrich the cultural vibrancy of the City of Boston. Economic Opportunity and Inclusion Legacy Business Award Winners On Thursday, June 4, Mayor Michelle Wu announced the winners of the 2026 Legacy Business Awards .

This year's cohort of 30 businesses represent 18 of Boston’s neighborhoods, and, as a collective, have been in business for over 1,000 years. On Monday, June 1, we honored the 2026 Legacy Business Award winners at a private ceremony. View all winners below.

Little Panda Early Learning and Care Center Deveney & White Memorials Roxbury Center for the Performing Arts Vargas & Vargas Insurance Fernandez Beauty & Barber Shop Interstate Rental Service Center Cuts Salon and Spa Boston Building Resources West Roxbury School of Dance On Wednesday, May 20, Mayor Michelle Wu announced the winners of the 2025 Legacy Business Awards .

This year's cohort of 30 businesses represent 19 of Boston’s neighborhoods, and, as a collective, have been in business for over 1,200 years. View all winners below. On Tuesday, June 3, we honored the 2025 Legacy Business Award winners at the Legacy Business Awards, hosted in partnership with the Dorchester Reporter.

The event, which took place at the Calderwood Pavilion, featured a formal award ceremony and a reception with hors d'oeuvres, live music, and entertainment. Boulevard Cleaners and Tailors After an in-depth community nomination process, the Mayor’s Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion granted Legacy Business Awards to the following 30 businesses, who represent 1,281 years of service to 19 neighborhoods.

For the second year of the Legacy Business Program, we received 1,561 nominations from the community. This totaled 326 unique enterprises, of which 276 businesses qualified as being located in Boston and open for at least 10 years. The review committee met on April 24 to score the finalists.

Grant recommendations are based on the program’s goals and were determined by the following criteria: Commitment to the community The 2024 winners are as follows: Trident Booksellers & Cafe Charles Street Supply Co. & Hardware Walnut Deluxe Cleaners and Tailors Broadway Lock Company, Inc. Johnny D's Fruit and Produce John J.

Ryan Insurance Agency Chez-Vous Roller Skating Rink Silver Slipper Restaurant Community Nomination Process Boston residents were able to nominate one business during the nomination period Legacy Businesses must have operated for at least 10 years within the city of Boston. The winners must commit to maintaining operations in the city once officially designated. This is the fourth year of the Legacy Business Program.

By recognizing and supporting Legacy businesses on an annual basis, the Program helps further Mayor Wu’s vision for a family-friendly, vibrant city with sustainable community businesses. Council Nominating Process The Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion (OEOI) reviews the nominations and sends a list of all eligible businesses to the corresponding office of the District Councilor and all At-Large Councilors.

From these nominations, each Councilor will select up to five businesses for consideration by the Review Committee. These 65 businesses will be sent an invitation to apply for the program.

Those applications will be forwarded to the Review Committee The City of Boston’s Legacy Business Review Committee is made up of the following nine people: Chief of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion, or their designee Chief of Arts and Culture, or their designee Chief of Community Engagement, or their designee Director of Small Business, Office of Economic Opportunity & Inclusion Director of Tourism, Sports, and Entertainment Senior Neighborhood Business Manager (one-year term, rotating) Boston Main Street director (one-year term, rotating) Executive Director of the Boston Main Streets Foundation, or their designee City Council Chair of Small Business, or their designee After an interview process with the Review Committee, the Committee narrows the list down to 25 recommendations.

The Mayor will ensure that these recommendations represent the rich diversity and heritage of our neighborhoods. Once approved, we will hold a ceremony to celebrate the 30 winners. Once a business has been designated as a Legacy Business, they will: be featured as a Legacy Business on the City digital platforms.

receive targeted technical assistance with a focus on succession planning and employee ownership. Businesses will also receive a commercial lease toolkit and free legal consultation (with City of Boston partners). receive a plaque and a special badge to feature in their business.

Frequently Asked Questions Frequently Asked Questions No, nonprofits are not eligible for this program. This program is to support local small businesses in our neighborhoods. What if a business has changed owners, but remained the same?

Yes, if the business has changed ownership but has remained the same name, type of business/industry for 10 years, they are eligible. If a business has remained in the same neighborhood for 10 or more years, but has had different locations, are they eligible to apply? Yes, if they have been in business in Boston for 10 years, they are eligible.

They do not need to have maintained the same address. Legacy Business Workshop Recordings Digital Marketing and Branding 2024 Legacy Business Promo Economic Opportunity and Inclusion Economic Opportunity and Inclusion