HUTTO — Meg Hiney says part of the success of her wine bar from the first pop of the cork came from government tax incentives usually associated with big investments or large job creation.
Tax abatements, government grants and other economic-development tools are usually sought out by big developers and big companies to bring jobs or improvement to the community.
Encouragement from Hiney’s friend, an owner of several retail properties in the area, sent her to the Hutto Economic Development Corp., where she went through the process of getting a sales-tax incentive to put Hutto Wine Bar on solid footing from the beginning.
The wine bar at 105 East St., the first of its kind in Hutto, serves 40 wines created, produced or owned by women in the industry around the world. The February soft opening was followed by an April grand opening in fairer weather.
After several meetings, an application process and eventually final approval from the City Council, the wine bar received a grant of $10,000 a year for four years with a sales-tax incentive.
If the city’s portion of the sales taxes collected by the business exceeds $10,000, the proceeds go back to the business, up to $47,000 total in four years or earlier if that dollar figure is reached sooner, she said.
“Once I received that first payment, I let out an audible sigh of relief,” Hiney said.
She used the money to build the bar area, shelving, décor and 40 cases of wine. It also allowed her to pay the various tradesmen who had been working on the space over the last year.
The city benefits in the long term from having a small business that generates sales-tax income to improve revenue and provides a quality-of-life draw for residents.
In comparison to other incentive packages handed out to big companies, she knows hers appears to be small change, but still worth applying for.
“I could maybe buy lunch for people at Samsung (Electronics Co. Ltd.) for a week” with the Hutto Wine Bar incentive, she said in comparing it to huge property-tax abatements handed out for the $17 billion project in Taylor.
Her business, however, still “brings people to Hutto and gives them a reason to stay,” she said.
Other smaller businesses who have benefited from Hutto tax-incentive programs include South Side Market BBQ, an Elgin-based chain with an outpost at The Hutto Co-op that is getting a $180,000, 15-year sales-tax reimbursement.
About 70% of the people who tell her how they found out about the wine bar say it was from word of mouth, Hiney said.
She said she encourages small businesses getting started around the city to at least apply for tax incentives.
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