Audubon Park, Church Street District, College Park, Downtown South, featured, Gateway Orlando, Ivanhoe Village, Mills 50, news, Orlando Tech Association, SoDo District, The Milk District, Thornton Park District

The City of Orlando Celebrates National Small Business Week

Audubon Park, Church Street District, College Park, Downtown South, featured, Gateway Orlando, Ivanhoe Village, Mills 50, news, Orlando Tech Association, SoDo District, The Milk District, Thornton Park District

Orlando Mayor Dyer and the City of Orlando Celebrate National Small Business Week 2017

As part of National Small Business Week, April 30 – May 6, the City of Orlando is recognizing the great contributions of the entrepreneurs and small business owners in our Orlando Main Streets, the City’s nine unique neighborhood commercial districts scattered throughout the City, that drive our region’s economy by
providing jobs, goods and services and opportunities for our residents. Our Main Street program is also home to Orlando Tech Association, the City’s digital Main Street, connecting, promoting and fostering the growth of technology companies in Orlando. Since the program’s inception in 2008, our Main Streets have welcomed nearly 1,200 new businesses, and have created nearly 7,000 full and part time jobs.

Each Main Street is home to a variety of locally-owned businesses where residents and visitors go to find uncommon and handmade goods, enjoy one-of-a-kind local cuisines and embrace the distinctive culture within each district. To recognize these thriving small business communities, and promote the local character that can only be found within each Main Street district, the City created the #alocalthing during Small Business Week 2016.

Each district has accomplished so much in the past year. To recognize the growth of each district since Small Business Week 2016, we’ve put together a list highlighting some of our local successes:

  • Nineteen Audubon Park Garden District businesses were featured in five well-known publications – including Toronto Sun Magazine, The Boston Globe, Bon Appetit Magazine, Edible Orlando Magazine and USA Today – for reasons to visit Orlando and local Orlando favorites
  • Audubon Park Garden District was awarded the Great American Main Street Award – the highest honor given by Main Street America
  • Church Street District and its businesses hosted more than 12,000 guests at four large-scale events – the FSU Block Party, ACC Championship Weekend Block Party, NFL ProBowl and Wrestlemania
  • Pig Floyd’s in Mills 50 District was experiencing so much success, they were able to open a second location in Lake Nona
  • Mills 50 District businesses were featured in national and international in publications, including Thrillist, Amazon Restaurants, HypeOrlando, Delta Sky Magazine and 30 Canadian newspapers as reasons to visit Orlando
  • The Milk District – home to more than 30 small businesses – was approved for funding by the City of Orlando, becoming the newest addition to the Orlando Main Streets program
  • Collectively, all nine brick and mortar districts welcomed more than 60 new businesses
  • The nine brick and mortar districts, along with Orlando Tech Association, added more than 500 full and part time jobs

I am so proud of these accomplishments, as they represent the strides Orlando has made in becoming the best City for entrepreneurs and small business owners to succeed. I encourage residents and visitors to make a conscious decision to patronize the small businesses in our Main Street districts and Downtown Orlando during National Small Business Week to celebrate and show appreciation for the integral part they play in making Orlando the best City in the country.

For a full list of Main Street accomplishments from 2016, take a look at the 2016 Main Streets Annual Report and see the list below. To learn more about the Orlando Main Streets program, visit Orlandomainstreets.com.

Audubon Park Garden District
-Steven Miller Photography opened a physical location on the second floor of East End Market
-Opened Ed Milgram Law Offices
-Monogram Merchant became so successful at their 3131 Corrine —Drive location, that they relocated to a larger space in Mills 50  District
-East End Market hosted the statewide Florida Local Food Summit
-Gideon’s Bakehouse opened in East End Market
-Redlight Redlight named a Top Ten Brewpub in America by USA      Today magazine
-Florida and Company, Skyebird, Le Femme Du Fromage, Gideon’s  Bakehouse, Freehand Goods and East End Market all declared  reasons to visit Orlando by Toronto Sun Magazine
-APGD, East End Market, Olde Hearth Bread Company, Le Femme  Du Fromage, Florida and Company, Houndstooth Sauce Company,  Lineage Coffee, Bookmark It, Gideon’s Bakehouse and Porch  Therapy all written about in the Boston Globe as reasons to visit  Orlando
-Fleet Farming was featured on NBC Nightly News
Stardust Video and Coffee, Lineage, Audubon Park Community  Market, East End MArket, Kadance, Gideon’s Bakehouse, Redlight  Redlight and Domu all featured in Bon Appetit Magazine
-P is for Pie Bake Shop, Gezellig Cookies, Olde Hearth Bread  Company featured in Edible Orlando magazine
-Park Ave CDs named Best Record Store by Orlando Weekly 2016
Redlight Redlight named best craft beer bar by Orlando Weekly  2016
-Stardust Video and Coffee named best coffee Orlando Weekly  2016
-B3 named Top Ten Orlando Restaurant with Healthy Menu by USA  Today
-Employed 22 people in full and part time jobs

Church Street District
-Hamburger Mary’s expanded to include Mary’s Side Bar
-Employed 40 people in full and part time jobs
-Hosted more than 4,000 guests for the FSU block party before the  FSU vs Ole Miss
-Hosted more than 3,000 guests for the ACC Championship —  Weekend Block Party on Church Street

College Park Main Street
-Welcomed 5 new businesses in 3rd quarter – Heaven Academy  Learning Center, Mr. Man Outiftters for Life, Foundation Records  and Acacia Antiques
-Welcomed 6 new businesses in 4th quarter – College Park  Orthodontics, Zatlier, Everbank Financial, D. Simon Nicholson Paul  and Perki, Annabelle and Company LLC and The Weight House
-Welcomed Edward Jones in 1st quarter 2017
-Employed 70 people in full and part time jobs

Gateway Orlando District
-Welcomed 4 businesses in 3rd quarter – J & K Travel and Services,  Lady’s Cache Fashion Store, Honey Kids and The Vape Shoppe
-Welcomed 8 new businesses in 4th quarter – Estrella Insurance,  Honest – 1 Auto Care, Bar Louie, Aponte & Klein Inc, Specialty  Parking, Gengxuanhuan LLC, Dollar Shack LLC and Taste of Yucatan
-Welcomed 2 new businesses in 1st quarter 2017 – Univista  Insurance and Davita Semoran Dialysis
-Employed 155 people in full and part time jobs
-Sunshine State Medical hosted 2 art exhibits in their office to  promote local artists and culture

Ivanhoe Village
-Welcomed 4 new businesses in 3rd quarter – Blackbird Vintage  Music, Luna Mosiac Arts, Blueprint Real Estate and Property Logic  Real Estate
-Welcomed 2 new businesses in 4th quarter – GB’s Bottle Club and  Dora Mae Jewelry
-Paper Goat Post expanded to accommodate their growing success
-Employed 31 people in full and part time jobs

Mills 50 District
-Welcomed 3 new businesses in 3rd quarter – King Bao, The District  @ Mills 50 and Restaurant Ash
-Welcomed 2 new businesses in 4th quarter – TicketBusters and  Gallery 1010
-Welcomed 3 new businesses in 1st quarter 2017 – Lazy Moon  Pizza, Bodyworks and Dragon Health Spa
-130 people were employed in full and part time jobs
-Pig Floyd’s growing success led to the opening of their second  location in Lake Nona
-New CFE Federal Credit Union was completely renovated
-Mills 50 was mentioned in the story “Four reasons to visit Orlando  that has nothing to do with theme parks” – which was carried in 30  Canadian newspapers
-Mills 50 was mentioned In article by Thrillist
-Black Rooster Taqueria’s John Calloway was featured in an article  in Amazon Restaurants
-Quantum Leap Winery was featured in an article in HypeOrlando
SayItLoud!, creators of the Mills 50 logo and branding banners,  celebrated their 14th anniversary in Mills 50
-Loch Haven Veterinary Clinic opened its new location in Mills 50

The Milk District
-The Milk District was approved as a new district into the Orlando  Main Streets program – home to more than 30 small businesses
-Se7en Bites outgrew their small space and moved into a larger,  stand-alone building to accommodate their booming success
-Since the acceptance of The Milk District into the program, the  district has welcomed Bad As’s Sandwiches, Studio B by Orlando  Power Yoga – focused on beginner yoga and Downtown Divas,  which moved from the UCF area to The Milk District in the Colonial  Plaza
-Since their inception into the program in October 2016, the district  has welcomed 37 new full and part time employees

SoDo (formally known as Downtown South)
-Welcomed 6 new businesses in 3rd quarter – Myles R. Samotin MD  PA, Central Florida Transmission, Sun Com Mobile LLC, M Facility  Inc, Kween Lab LLC and Sodo Sushi and Grill
-Welcomed 10 new businesses in 4th quarter – Orlando Auto Mall  Inc, Zoe’s Kitchen, Kimchis Korean Grill, Locks and Lashes LLC,  Controlled RX Pharmacy, Seal Logistics Inc, SoDo Animal Hospital,  Orlando Health Advanced Surgical, Scendia Med-Surg LLC and  Florida Cardiology PA

Orlando Tech Association
-Employed 36 full time jobs

Thornton Park District
-Welcomed 2 businesses during 3rd quarter – Jay Johnson Salon  and Gaviota – Peruvian Restaurant
-Welcomed PaintMix in 1st quarter 2017
-Employed 19 people with full and part time jobs

-Buddy Dyer, Mayor

#alocalthing #SmallBusinessWeek

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