- It's official! The Starbucks location in the 11 E will be closing this Thurday.
- Chamblin's is now open in the evening on Wednesday and Saturday only (wtf?) so you can still get your coffee fix during rush hour... and maybe pick up a book while you're there.
- UNF has now officially acquired the Jacksonville Museum of Comporary Art, and while I am still a bit worried about the details, this could prove to be a boon for downtown by allowing the museum more flexibility with hours and events and allowing UNF to generate more interest in events downtwon.
- Shantytown gets a new sign. And it's a cool one.
- Downtown loses one trolley route, but gains the Beaver St Farmers Market as a destination on another route. There's also talk of a trolley running to Springfield, this time next year I could be leaving my house on 2nd St and getting veggies from the Farmer's Market without ever having to use a car.
- Unfortunately The Gas Knob Pub is no more (a very underrated and under-appreciated spot in my opinion) but the owners of First Street Grille have stepped up to the plate with the newly opened Jacksonville Sports Bar.
- The Riverside Culinary scene is expanding again. We're working to get restaurant reviews up and running, I think Fu Hao is going to be my first one.... for research purposes, of course.
- The Riverside Arts Market is insane, between the dozens of local farmers, crafters, and artists there's much too much to see and do in one day. Plus with live music, free bike valet, and the riverwalk and 5 points so close you really don't have a reason not to go.
- Three Layers is working wonders in their corner of Springfield by creating a nice and peaceful destination in the neighborhood for those times when the pearl is just too loud and Shantytown is just too hot. They haven't posted it officially on their site yet, but the owners revealed to me that they will have a wine bar opening up soon in the other side of the store. Now you can enjoy a nice glass of wine with your massive piece of delicious cake
- Cafe Carmon closed their doors last month, but Sam Efron (Sous chef of Orsay) and his wife Kiley are already stepping in to fill the gap. I've worked with Sam before and I have confidence this should be a great location when it opens in August.
Apr 19, 2009
News post!
Jan 6, 2009
R.I.P. Starbucks
Man, it's been awhile since I've had a chance to post here, the Christmas season compounded with moving and a wave of the flu conspired to keep me from being remotely productive for the past few weeks.
Anyways, so my friends at Starbucks tell me that the shiny new Starbucks location in Downtown (located in the 11 E building on Forsyth st) is slated to be closed, and while Starbucks corporate has not given a definite timetable the rumor going around is that the closing will probably be a few weeks after the new year. Now, being a supporter of small businesses (I tend to frequent the Chamblin's coffee shop fairly often) part of me is cheering for the homogenizing behemoth to leave Downtown, but the other part of me realizes what a missed opportunity this will be for the Downtown business community.
While Starbucks is a corporate juggernaut that saps money from the local economy, it also serves as a destination for much of the American population, and having an easily recognizable and dependable destination like Starbucks in the middle of downtown provides an excellent opportunity for small merchants and restaurants to try to lure those customers away from Starbucks and into their businesses. Chamblin's Uptown a few blocks away would benefit from those who decided they needed something to read while they drank their coffee (although Chamblin's needs to be open later than 5 pm in my opinion), Chew, NOLA, Cafe 331 and Burrito Gallery would be able to bring in those customers who decide a crusty scone from the glass case just isn't enough to slate their appetite, and destinations like the Symphony, the Florida Theatre, the museum, the plethora of clubs along Bay st, and the Landing could bring in the people who came Downtown with a craving for coffee and something else to do.
It should be mentioned that although the Forsyth location is closing, the Landing store is going to remain open. But everyone I've spoken to hates that place, and every time I've been there it's smelled vaguely of stinky old cheese (although the Landing tends to smell that way in general)
Hopefully Chamblin's, The Brick Coffee Shop and Shelby's (although I rarely hear good things about Shelby's product) can step up to the plate and provide that relaxing destination for people Downtown seeking a quiet place to enjoy a relaxing cup of coffee and read a good book. If comfortable, no pressure stores like coffee shops and book stores could start creating a reason for people to relax downtown during the rush hours, it may just spur shoppers into looking around at what some of the other businesses in the area have to offer.
Anyways, so my friends at Starbucks tell me that the shiny new Starbucks location in Downtown (located in the 11 E building on Forsyth st) is slated to be closed, and while Starbucks corporate has not given a definite timetable the rumor going around is that the closing will probably be a few weeks after the new year. Now, being a supporter of small businesses (I tend to frequent the Chamblin's coffee shop fairly often) part of me is cheering for the homogenizing behemoth to leave Downtown, but the other part of me realizes what a missed opportunity this will be for the Downtown business community.
While Starbucks is a corporate juggernaut that saps money from the local economy, it also serves as a destination for much of the American population, and having an easily recognizable and dependable destination like Starbucks in the middle of downtown provides an excellent opportunity for small merchants and restaurants to try to lure those customers away from Starbucks and into their businesses. Chamblin's Uptown a few blocks away would benefit from those who decided they needed something to read while they drank their coffee (although Chamblin's needs to be open later than 5 pm in my opinion), Chew, NOLA, Cafe 331 and Burrito Gallery would be able to bring in those customers who decide a crusty scone from the glass case just isn't enough to slate their appetite, and destinations like the Symphony, the Florida Theatre, the museum, the plethora of clubs along Bay st, and the Landing could bring in the people who came Downtown with a craving for coffee and something else to do.
It should be mentioned that although the Forsyth location is closing, the Landing store is going to remain open. But everyone I've spoken to hates that place, and every time I've been there it's smelled vaguely of stinky old cheese (although the Landing tends to smell that way in general)
Hopefully Chamblin's, The Brick Coffee Shop and Shelby's (although I rarely hear good things about Shelby's product) can step up to the plate and provide that relaxing destination for people Downtown seeking a quiet place to enjoy a relaxing cup of coffee and read a good book. If comfortable, no pressure stores like coffee shops and book stores could start creating a reason for people to relax downtown during the rush hours, it may just spur shoppers into looking around at what some of the other businesses in the area have to offer.
Nov 25, 2008
Viva la Folio!
I'm a little behind the times posting this, but for anyone who didn't catch it Folioweekly just did an nice little buying guide focusing exclusively on local businesses that offer truly unusual items (my personal favorite being the Godzilla statue made from motorcyle parts). The issue that it was in is already off the stands, but I know that at least one of your friends has got an issue shoved somewhere in the backseat of their car from when they read it while eating lunch at Burrito Gallery. Or you could just check it out on the Folio site here.
In the same issue Folio issued a call for all of it's readers to forgo the cheap Walmart christmas presents (which any respectable kid will break within a week anyways) and pledge to spend at least 100 dollars in locally owned businesses. It's been pretty well documented that when money is spent locally approximately 68 cents of each dollar goes directly back into the local economy which is about 50% more than when spent at a national retailer or restaurant (approx 43 cents on the dollar) and when you buy online the local impact is far lower than even that. Folioweekly estimates that the financial impact of their entire readership spending 100 dollars locally would pump an additional 8 million dollars into the local economy. So when you shop locally you're not just supporting your area merchants, but you're also fostering more jobs in the local enomony and increasing your city's available tax income, that means that shopping locally can have a direct, positive impact on your roads, schools, parks and civic services. So do your civic duty and go out there and patronize your friendly local restauranteur or shop owner.
Folioweekly is also standing behind their call to action by offering a contest for anyone willing to take their pledge. Simply email fbombcontest@folioweekly.com with "I pledge" in the subject line and your name, address, and phone number in the body to be entered in a drawing for over 1000 dollars in gift certificates for local stores. So pledge away (deadline is December 15), and make sure to follow through on it, because you don't want to be that guy that never follows through on your pledges, do you?
In the same issue Folio issued a call for all of it's readers to forgo the cheap Walmart christmas presents (which any respectable kid will break within a week anyways) and pledge to spend at least 100 dollars in locally owned businesses. It's been pretty well documented that when money is spent locally approximately 68 cents of each dollar goes directly back into the local economy which is about 50% more than when spent at a national retailer or restaurant (approx 43 cents on the dollar) and when you buy online the local impact is far lower than even that. Folioweekly estimates that the financial impact of their entire readership spending 100 dollars locally would pump an additional 8 million dollars into the local economy. So when you shop locally you're not just supporting your area merchants, but you're also fostering more jobs in the local enomony and increasing your city's available tax income, that means that shopping locally can have a direct, positive impact on your roads, schools, parks and civic services. So do your civic duty and go out there and patronize your friendly local restauranteur or shop owner.
Folioweekly is also standing behind their call to action by offering a contest for anyone willing to take their pledge. Simply email fbombcontest@folioweekly.com with "I pledge" in the subject line and your name, address, and phone number in the body to be entered in a drawing for over 1000 dollars in gift certificates for local stores. So pledge away (deadline is December 15), and make sure to follow through on it, because you don't want to be that guy that never follows through on your pledges, do you?
Nov 22, 2008
First post
Welcome to Homegrown Jacksonville, a Jacksonville, Florida based blog about locally owned and operated businesses operating in the urban core (Downtown, San Marco, Riverside, Brooklyn, Springfield, Avondale and surrounding areas). This author has commited himself to supporting and only working for locally owned and operated businesses and hopes to spread awareness of local businesses throughout the region.
In the coming months we hope to be able to incorporate interviews with local business people and organizations, profiles of available merchants and services, reviews of area restaurants, and local shopping and entertainment guides.
If you have any comments or news, want to contribute to this blog, or want to be a featured business here, please email us at homegrownjax@gmail.com.
Thanks for reading!
In the coming months we hope to be able to incorporate interviews with local business people and organizations, profiles of available merchants and services, reviews of area restaurants, and local shopping and entertainment guides.
If you have any comments or news, want to contribute to this blog, or want to be a featured business here, please email us at homegrownjax@gmail.com.
Thanks for reading!
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