Consumer Stories

Consumer Stories

Nonprofit helps students rise through reading programs

Each year, a local non-profit organization hosts book fairs that provide thousands of free books to children in high-need schools, thanks to help from local businesses. RISE Augusta, one of five nonprofits housed in the new HUB for Community Innovation located at 631 Chafee Ave. in downtown Augusta, receives book donations from several bookstores, such as The Book Tavern and 2nd & Charles, according to its Executive Director, Laurie Cook. “A lot of kids don’t have books at home,” Cook said. She said RISE primarily focuses on improving literacy skills

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B2B Stories

Weinberger’s Furniture celebrates 90 years of serving CSRA

Half of all businesses fail within the first five years, and even more, are gone within 10 years, so making it to 90 years is definitely an event to celebrate. So Weinberger’s Furniture, a local family-owned business, is celebrating its 90th anniversary with the help of its customers. The company had a ribbon cutting and party on Thursday, Sept. 15. Karly Weinberger said they have also offered sales throughout much of this year. “Right now, we’re doing an anniversary sale,” she said. “Customers pay 90 percent of the sale price.”

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Consumer Stories

Bus company partnership creates more direct routes for Augusta residents

Starting Monday, Augusta residents will have expanded travel options throughout the Southeast, thanks to a partnership between two large bus companies. Megabus and Atlanta-based Southeastern Stages have teamed up to create routes from the CSRA to 12 cities, such as Atlanta, Athens, Myrtle Beach, Madison and Raleigh. These routes will leave from four bus stops throughout the CSRA: Augusta, Thomson, Washington and Aiken. One of the stops is the Augusta Transit Center located at 1546 Broad St. The partnership has also created many new direct routes throughout Georgia, South Carolina

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Consumer Stories

New packaged beverage store opens on Furys Ferry

The old sitcom Cheers portrayed a bar where everyone knew your name. Cheers in Evans is a package liquor store and, while they may not know your name yet, they do offer a wide selection of beer, wine and liquor. Cheers opened at the corner of Evans to Locks and Furys Ferry roads last Thursday. It is a new project by the Patel brothers who own several Dunkin Donuts and other stores in the Augusta area. “We’re going to try to be a nice, clean store with great customer service,”

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Consumer Stories

Business Lunch: New China Buffet

Editor’s Note: Wes Hennings never met a meal he walked away from and is an opinionated eater! Each Thursday he shares the results of a business lunch he’s had with a colleague as a way to advise our business community on the good, bad, and tasty across the CSRA. He doesn’t let ABD or the restaurant know where he is going and his opinions are his own. He grades the restaurants he visits on a 1-5 scale with “5” being outstanding. We call this our “Real Business Lunch Review”. Food

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Consumer Stories

GreenJackets’ attendance tops in all Single A, sets franchise record

Fans showed the Augusta GreenJackets plenty of love during the 2022 season, so much so that they topped all of Single A in attendance, plus set a franchise attendance record. The GreenJackets drew 262,172 fans to SRP Park during the season, the best among the 30 Single A Minor League Baseball affiliates. They also averaged 4,096 fans per game, besting their previous record of 4,050 set in 2019. SRP Park has 4,200 seats but with standing room only admissions can host 6,000-plus. “We’re very fortunate that the community supports GreenJackets

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Consumer Stories

Bank gets permanent home on Augusta, plans celebration

A bank with nearly 300 locations scattered throughout much of the eastern United States now has a permanent home in Augusta. Ameris Bank will celebrate the grand opening of its branch located at 3626 Walton Way Extension, Building 100 today at 4 p.m. The location opened earlier this month. The bank came to Augusta in August 2020, but operated out of a temporary location at 2743 Perimeter Parkway, Building 200, Suite 107 for the past two years. “Ameris offers everything from retail to commercial banking services, small business lending and

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Consumer Stories

Western culture is alive and well in Aiken

An icon of the American West, the tumbleweed, begins with the death of the Russian thistle. In winter, it breaks off at the stem and begins its journey as a tumbleweed blowing around the desert spreading seeds as it bounces along. Some of those seeds have spread almost 2,000 miles to Aiken. TumbleWeed opened a couple of months ago at 216 Park Avenue, a store that carries all things western from cowboy hats to boots, belts, halters and handwoven blankets. Aiken is famous for thoroughbred racing and polo matches, but

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Consumer Stories

Love letter to Augusta: Artist restores historic murals on downtown buildings

Addison Niday has found a colorful way to promote CSRA businesses and preserve history at the same time. Niday, a local muralist, has been busy restoring old, faded murals on business buildings, primarily in downtown Augusta. He pays for these restorations, which can cost up to $1,000 each, out of his own pocket. Niday only asks business owners to donate money for paint, but many don’t. “This is a passion project; it’s my love letter to Augusta,” Niday said. He refers to himself as a soda enthusiast, so many of

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Consumer Stories

Faith Friday: One local woman is making fairytales come true for all children

The phrase representation matters, the concept that people want to see and interact with others who look like them, takes on new meaning for Doriane Skales. Growing up as a little Black girl in Tucson, Ariz., she didn’t see Disney princesses with brown skin or kinky coils like hers. In fact, it wasn’t until 2009 when Disney’s The Princess and the Frog hit the big screen that the 33-year-old was able to gaze upon someone as if she was seeing herself in the mirror. After several decades, Princess Tiana suddenly

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