Submitted
A sweet shop indeed > With help from the Small Business Development Center and the Roanoke City Economic Development Department, Shaneice Jones has gone from making custom cakes and other confectionary treats in her kitchen to a new storefront at 501 Campbell Avenue Southwest. "Sweets by Shaneice" cut the ribbon last month, with help from Mayor Sherman Lea Sr. and City Council member Stephanie Moon Reynolds. “I outgrew my kitchen,” said Jones. Besides those custom-made cakes, Sweets by Shaneice will offer cupcakes, stuffed cheesecake cones, candied apples and more. Her advice to other would-be small business start-ups: “ask for help. There’s a lot of people, a lot of resources out here [that a lot of people] don’t know about. It was a long process but there are a lot of people here [in Roanoke] that want to help.”
Brett Winter Lemon
New bank in town > A new community-based financial institution intends to launch with branches next year. Carrie McConnell is the president of Ridge View Bank, which will be based here in the valley. Ridge View will have a focus on financial services tailored to small and medium size businesses and their and employees. “We plan to have 4 to 6 branches over the next five years and hire at least 50 employees McConnell said at the formal announcement atop Center in the Square recently. The first branch should be up and running on Main Street in Salem 3Q 2022. McConnell knows Salem very well – having played basketball for Roanoke College. “It’s just how it worked out. We found the perfect location on Main Street [for] our first full-service site. I also live in Salem as well so it’s very exciting.” Ridge View Bank is a subsidiary of Pennsylvania-based CNB Bank. McConnell already has an office established in Roanoke and is working on loans with local commercial customers.
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t DECEMBER 2021 / vbFRONT.com
