Bay Shore embroidery shop gets $5,000 local business grant

PRIDE EMBROIDERY in Bay Shore picked up a $5,000 grant this week as part of a Long Island small-business program that is trying to do more than hand out ceremonial checks. The shop, also known as Pride Supplies & Embroidery, was one of 40 businesses chosen for the third annual L.O.C.A.L. awards, with 20 winners in Suffolk County and 20 in Nassau County and two $20,000 grand-prize winners still to be announced later in the summer.

For the Bay Shore business, the money will go toward very specific expansion costs: promoting a new location, building an e-commerce site and upgrading its server. That makes the grant more than a small publicity boost. For a neighborhood company trying to grow online while still serving walk-in customers, those are the kinds of expenses that can slow a move from steady local shop to larger regional player.

Pride Supplies & Embroidery said it has been in Bay Shore since 2006, when it started as a kiosk in the South Shore Mall, and opened a main-street store in 2007. That history gives the grant a different kind of resonance than it would for a brand-new startup. This is an established Suffolk business trying to widen its reach, not simply test an idea, and the funding is aimed at practical steps that could help it compete for more apparel, promotional products and repeat orders.

The program, whose name stands for Lifting Our Community Businesses Across Long Island, was announced June 9 by Optimum Business and the Long Island Association Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Long Island Association. The groups said the 2026 awards are split evenly between the two counties and are meant to support local growth and long-term success. Other winners included the Barber & Beauty Institute of New York in Hempstead, which plans to upgrade equipment and supplies and keep offering free haircuts to underserved residents, and Burger Boys Bar and Grill in Glen Cove, which will use its grant for the first phase of an outdoor patio project.

The grants are not large enough to solve every cost pressure facing a small business, but they can matter when they are matched to a specific need. A $5,000 check will not finance a full expansion, yet it can cover the early online and technology costs that often determine whether a growth plan moves forward. Since launching in 2024, the partnership said it has awarded $500,000 to 90 small businesses across Long Island, a modest sum in regional economic terms but one that can still make a visible difference on a Bay Shore storefront.