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City Cafe & Unique Systems
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City Cafe & Unique Systems

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City Cafe & Unique Systems

Owners: Ken and Ruth Bowers (50-50%)
Lending Partner: First Gaston Bank
Location: Mount Holly
Project: SBA 504 Loan to purchase of 12,420 sq.ft. building downtown for $825,000
Community Impact: Rural area, downtown revitalization; Vietnam-era veteran-owned; Eight jobs maintained and six created

This project is a classic SBA 504 economic development loan. It allowed co-owners Ken and Ruth Bowers to purchase and remodel a closed, run-down 1940s-era supermarket located directly across from town hall in Mount Holly, a Gaston County community hard-hit by textile and other manufacturing closures. The Bowers are using the space to house both City Cafe and Unique Systems.

Since 1986 the Bowers have run Unique Systems, a heat control devices manufacturer founded in 1952. The company manufactures electronic control systems for thermoforming plastic extrusion machines. Cold and hot drink cups and lids, truck bed liners, horticulture products and fuel tanks are some examples of products the machines produce.

They opened City Cafe in 2000 in Belmont to serve a varied menu to customers seven days a week. In June, 2005, the cafe lost its lease so the Bowers decided to relocate five miles away to Mount Holly. In May 2006, the Bowers were approved for an SBA 504 loan to purchase a new, 12,420-square foot building. The extra space allowed for a larger dining area and additional banquet meeting facility. 2,380 square feet of the space would house Unique Systems.

This SBA 504 loan allowed them to transform an eyesore into a downtown anchor and sparked a retail renaissance. When this project first started nearly two years ago, there were numerous empty storefronts in this part of town, but now there are few. Both the restaurant and manufacturing businesses have survived the move, and the Bowers are now able to offer banquet services which had not previously been available in Gaston County.

Huntersville Mayor Kim Phillips was in Mount Holly in November for the city’s first economic development conference held by the Mount Holly Community Development Foundation and the Gaston Chamber of Commerce. Mount Holly is working to protect its assets to accommodate inevitable growth as Charlotte residents look west for a place to live, officials say.

"That caution will help the city maintain its small-town atmosphere, while building a healthy tax base," said Phillips.