The city of Birmingham announced this week it will give four local businesses RISE grants totaling more than $100,000.

The RISE initiative establishes two funds with the purpose of providing resources for local area businesses. It stands for Retention Incentives for Success and Expansion and was established in March 2022. Recipients of RISE grants must be in Birmingham and must retain or expand their employee base.

One business is Robert Hill Custom Tailors, who is receiving $17,500 from the city. Hill has operated his custom tailor shop for more than 40 years, but last year was forced to find a new home store location due to an “astronomical” rent increase.

According to a press release from the city of Birmingham, Hill said heard about a program designed to help small businesses, and it was an answer to his prayers.

Hill is known for servicing high profile customers like former Alabama head football coach Gene Stallings, ESPN radio host Paul Finebaum, and former Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington. His store is filled with pictures with Stallings, Arrington, other notable politicians, and Crimson Tide football memorabilia — not to mention several colorful ties, pocket squares, and lapel pins. Hill has built a reputation for being very detailed with a thread and needle. And despite running his own business over the last four decades, he said he doesn’t plan to retire anytime soon.

Other recipients of the grants are: Bridge and Root ($15,000), Acclinate ($30,000), and Bodega on 5th ($20,000). A restaurant called Kuntry Kitchen has also been presented before a committee and is in the process of going before the Birmingham City Council for $15,000.

“My hope is that as our program grows and we take on more risk that you will know that it was done in a spirit of inclusion, of opportunity, and with the utmost care in mind,” Cornell Wesley, director of Innovation and Economic Opportunity, said in a press release. “This administration and this department will continue to champion those results and will unapologetically bet on our businesses. Why? Because public service demands it.”

The RISE grant is intended to support the growth and retention of Birmingham-based businesses.

Businesses are eligible for the funds if they retain and expand their employee base and operate within the city of Birmingham, including new startups as long as they create at least five full-time jobs.