After encountering construction problems, an upcoming restaurant in downtown Shawnee got the OK from the city to have more time to work on the project using forgivable loan funds.
On Monday, the Shawnee City Council voted 6-1 to extend a SEED grant money loan to Katfish LLC for the development of Gilda’s Bar De Tapas, a new tapas restaurant and bar at 5815 Nieman Road.
The city council’s approval extends the $55,000 SEED grant loan, which was first approved in April, to Katfish for kitchen equipment and improvements to the exterior, such as new windows, to Gilda’s.
The loan reimburses Katfish LLC for the project if it met certain milestones within a six-month period. After facing a number of setbacks, the owners requested the deadline be extended from Oct. 5, 2024, to April 5, 2025.
“This doesn’t cost us anything. All we have to do is give the guy some more time to finish the project,” said Steve Hauck, business liaison for Shawnee’ Community Development department.
Gilda’s was originally set to open this year
The business is moving into and renovating the former office building that previously housed Church Funeral Associates, which closed in 2021.
Earlier this year, Bryan Albers, president of Katfish, told the Johnson County Post he was hoping to open in 2024.
After the city council approved the SEED grant in April, the project encountered a number of setbacks, according to city documents, including:
- More structural issues than anticipated,
- Water issues, which required adding drainage control and a new retaining wall on the building’s north side.
- Reinforcement of ceiling joists for the structure to be able to house the HVAC units on the roof.
- Delays on the delivery of new storefront windows
“These old buildings are tough,” Hauck said. “This old building has been especially tough … Parts of the building fell down during construction.”
SEED grants are meant to help businesses
The Shawnee Entrepreneurial and Economic Development grant program, or SEED, is a city-run program that provides one-time payments in the form of forgivable loans to businesses as part of the city’s efforts to encourage expansion of existing businesses and attraction of new employers, according to city documents.
While Katfish has spent more than $500,000 on the project, the owners want to use the SEED money to help pay for exterior costs, as well as adding grease interceptors and ventilation to the kitchen, Albers said in a previous interview with the Johnson County Post.
“The money that we’re requesting doesn’t even cover (renovations),” he said in a previous interview. “It’s just basically saying ‘Let’s be partners in this deal and you help a little bit and we’ll help a lot to make this thing happen.’”
Albers did not return requests from the Post for comment on the project.
To date, $25,000 has been reimbursed to Katfish based on the milestones agreed to in the SEED grant contract, according to city documents. The extension would allow them to get the additional $30,000 when they receive a Certificate of Occupancy.
Most of the council was onboard with the extension
Having toured the building, Councilmember Kurt Knappen said he favored the extension because he wanted to see the project succeed.
“It’s very costly to restore the bones of these very old buildings,” he said during the meeting. “This was a perfect example of where they had to completely gut everything. So, if they’ve run into some additional trouble, I think it’s perfectly acceptable to extend the time.”
When asked by Councilmember Tony Gillette if developers anticipate any more delays, Hauck said the Katfish owner thinks a six-month extension should be enough time to smooth things out.
“I think everybody’s pretty confident that this will be done in six months,” he said.
Go deeper: Shawnee restaurant developers ask city for loan to help with renovations
