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Finance Program Assists in Concordia Business Transition

business transition image

Darell Gallegos (left) purchased the Concordia Ford dealership, located at 1510 E. 6th Street, from owners Steve Womack Sr. (right) and Judy Womack in 2019. (Courtesy Photo)

A passion for the car business has led Darell Gallegos on a journey to achieve his dream of owning a dealership. Gallegos purchased the Concordia, Kansas, Ford dealership, previously known as Womack Sunshine Ford, in late 2019.

The new name of the dealership is Farm Country Ford — a name Darell says is meant to honor the community’s agricultural roots. It is also a Kawasaki franchise and offers a lineup of motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and utility/recreational vehicles.

Darell’s roots to a Ford dealership begin at the age of 18 when he worked for local Ford dealers while attending Hutchinson Community College and Wichita State University. He went to work for Ford Motor Credit Company after graduation, which is where he met Steve Womack Sr., owner of the Concordia Ford franchise. The two connected and, in 2018, Gallegos became the general manager at Womack. Darell purchased the dealership in late 2019 when owners Steve Sr. and Judy Womack were ready to retire.

The project to transition the business to new ownership was made possible with investment by the owner as well as funding from The Citizens National Bank and the NCK-Four Rivers Business Down Payment Assistance Loan Program.

For more information about the financing programs used, contact NCRPC Business Finance Director Debra Peters at 785-738-2218 or visit the NCRPC Business Finance Program. For more information about the business, visit Farm Country Ford.

This article appeared in the July 2020 NCRPC Newsletter.


Former College Athlete Creates Business for Aspiring Athletes

This article appeared in the November 2019 NCRPC Newsletter.

Former University of Kansas and Salina Central running back Jake Sharp has a passion for helping athletes and individuals achieve success. His business, Sharp Performance, LLC, gives him the opportunity to do just that.

Sharp Performance owns and operates two gyms in North Central Kansas. The Concordia location at 117 W. 6th Street is primarily a family gym. The Salina location at 131 S. Santa Fe is a performance training business specializing in training high school athletics for the collegiate level. The Salina gym relocated to its new downtown location in February 2019. The Concordia and Salina gyms both offer 24-hour access to platinum members with trainers available during regular business hours.

Sharp Performance Image

Sharp Performance specializes in working with young athletes at its Salina location.

The business hosts annual events for young athletes including the Top Prospect Camp, High School Football Combine and a basketball clinic.

Sharp had 8 years of experience in the industry including 5 years as a strength/conditioning coach at Pratt High School before starting Sharp Performance, LLC in January 2017.

The recent move to downtown Salina allowed for the purchase of additional gym equipment. The relocation project was made possible with investment by the owner as well as funding from a bank and the NCK-Four Rivers Business Down Payment Assistance Loan Program.

For more information about the financing programs used, contact NCRPC Business Finance Director Debra Peters at 785-738-2218 or visit www.ncrpc.org/services/business. For more information about the business, visit www.sharp-performance.com.

 


Family Joins Forces to Bring Back Concordia Restaurant

Photo of Taco Grande sign

Taco Grande opened in April in Concordia at 1421 E 6th Street.

Nostalgia and a love for tacos led one family to bring back Taco Grande to Concordia.

Chad and Malinda Sallman, Brock Sallman, and Loren and Dena Miller formed SallMill, LLC last year for the purpose of re-opening a Taco Grande franchise in Concordia. The Sallman’s and Miller’s opened a new Taco Grande restaurant in April at its original location at 1421 E. 6th Street.

The owners have ties to the original Concordia restaurant that operated from 1975 until the early 2000s — including Dena who worked at the previous Taco Grande during high school.

“The response to re-opening Taco Grande has been overwhelming,” Dena Miller said. “Concordia and the surrounding communities have supported us since the buzz of re-opening occurred almost a year ago. We as owners work really hard to ensure we are running a business that will sustain itself for years to come.”

The restaurant offers a menu of fast food Mexican cuisine and prides itself on using Kansas beef. Dine in seating and drive through service is available. Future plans are to add convenience options such as online ordering through an app and local delivery. The business has 15 part-time and 4 full-time employees.

This project was made possible with investment by the owners as well as funding from The Citizens National Bank of Concordia and NCKCN-Four Rivers Business Down Payment Assistance Loan Program. Additional local funds for building improvements were awarded from the Get in the Cloud small business grant program administered by CloudCorp.

For more information about the financing programs used, contact NCRPC Business Finance Director Debra Peters at 785-738-2218 or visit www.ncrpc.org/services/business. For more information about the business, find them on Facebook.

This article appeared in the September 2019 NCRPC Newsletter.


Ophthalmologist Expands Practice to New Salina Location

After renting office space for several years to see patients in Salina, Dr. V. Esther Rettig, M.D., P.A., has purchased a permanent Salina location.

Dr. Rettig is a Mayo Certified Ophthalmologist/Surgeon offering medical eye care, surgical eye care, and cosmetic care. She began practice in May 1998 in McPherson. This practice continues. Rettig has also seen patients in Salina since 2014, but at a space she rented from ophthalmologist Dr. Weiner one day per month. Dr. Rettig routinely partners with optometrists in North Central Kansas to assist their patients with various eye surgeries.

Dr. Esther Rettig, M.D., P.A. expanded to a new permanent location in Salina at 2525 S. Ohio Street in November 2018.

Dr. Rettig’s new Salina location at 2525 S. Ohio Street has 11,800 square foot and was formerly home to Brown Mackie College. In addition to the space utilized by the practice, office space is occupied by Pickel & Bruckner CPA and another 3,000 square feet is available to rent.

The project to purchase the Salina office location was made possible with investment by the owner as well as funding from First Bank Kansas, NCKCN-Four Rivers Business Down Payment Assistance Program, and the NCRPC-Revolving Loan Fund. It is anticipated that four full-time jobs will be created within the next year.

For more information about the financing programs used, contact NCRPC Business Finance Director Debra Peters at 785-738-2218 or visit www.ncrpc.org/services/business. To contact Dr. V. Esther Rettig, M.D., P.A. at its Salina location, call 785-371-2425 or find the business on Facebook.

This article appeared in the May 2019 NCRPC Newsletter.


NCRPC/Bank Complete Homebuyer Assistance Project

NCRPC/Wilson State Bank has completed a $20,000 project that assisted buyers in purchasing homes in Wilson, KS. The program was made possible through a FHLBank’s Joint Opportunities for Building Success (JOBS) Program award of $25,000 to the bank on behalf of North Central Kansas Community Network, Co. (NCKCN). NCRPC Business Finance Director Debra Peters prepared the application; however, the funding source is no longer available. The remaining $5,000 of the project award was granted to local restaurants to install grease traps to comply with new city requirements and to create a new housing brochure available at City Hall.

Homebuyers applied for project funds through the Wilson Housing Down Payment Assistance 0% Loan/Grant Program available exclusively from the Wilson State Bank at its Wilson location.

Project funds were used to assist in the purchase of four homes in Wilson totaling $233,600, with $20,000 coming from the FHLBank JOBS Program.

The recently completed housing project resulted in a leverage of $11.68 of local funds for each $1 of program funds and employment impact of four jobs within the City of Wilson. Geneva Myers and Irv Mitchell of Wilson State Bank facilitated the program locally.

The program was developed and administered by Peters/NCRPC and its 501(c)3 affiliate, NCKCN. Recaptured funds will become a part of the NCKCN-Four Rivers Down Payment Assistance Loan Program that is available to businesses located in Wilson, Ellsworth County, and the remaining 11-county NCRPC service area in North Central Kansas.

For more information about this or other NCRPC business finance programs, contact Debra Peters at dpeters@nckcn.com.

This article appeared in the September 2018 NCRPC Newsletter.

 


Salina’s Design Central Transitioned to New Ownership

A business with a presence in Salina and the region since 1972 has new owners. Earlier this year Scott and Meghan Bird purchased Design Central located in downtown Salina.

Design Central specializes in selling office furniture and offers a complete line of commercial interior design services throughout Kansas. The business has interior designers on staff to provide furniture solutions and design layout assistance for new construction as well as remodeling projects of existing facilities. The business primarily provides services for corporate/office, educational—including schools and libraries, and healthcare settings.

Design Central, Salina, KS

Design Central is located at 152 S. 5th St. in downtown Salina.

Previous owner Suzanne Hokett, who has more than 30 years of experience, has operated the business since 1982. She continues to manage the day-to-day operations.

The new owners are both Kansas natives. Scott grew up in Burlington and graduated from the University of Kansas and Meghan Bird grew up in Overland Park and graduated from Kansas State University.

This project was made possible with funding from First Bank Kansas, NCKCN-Four Rivers Down Payment Assistance Loan Program, the seller, and investment by the owners.

For more information about the financing programs used, contact NCRPC Business Finance Director Debra Peters at 785-738-2218 or dpeters@nckcn.com or visit www.ncrpc.org/services/business. To learn more about the business, visit www.designcentralks.com. For more information about upgrading a space or the design services available, contact a designer at 785-825-4131 or aageorge@designcentralks.com.

This article appeared in the July 2018 NCRPC Newsletter.


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