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Consumer Stories
B2B Stories

Challenges get the best of local restaurant and take-out business

Editor’s note: The best part of my job is writing about new businesses. During the interview process, the excitement is palpable. The hardest part is telling the story of the ones that close. Telling those stories brings a different set of emotions to the table. Like most entrepreneurs, Jennifer Steller, owner of A Steller Kitchen, followed her dream which was to open a restaurant. Along the way, she endured some big challenges, including opening her doors in the midst of Covid and later her husband was diagnosed with two brain

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Mitzi Oxford February 13, 2024 No Comments
B2B Stories

Putting empty Augusta buildings back to work

Augusta-Richmond County will soon see a series of vacant buildings finding new life for different purposes. The most recent is the former Rite Aid/Eckerd Drugs store on Walton Way at 15th Street. It re-opened on Feb. 8 as a retail store and training center for Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia and the CSRA. That came on the heels of Goodwill turning the former Georgia Federal Bank on Washington Road at Furys Ferry Road into its welcome center for Helms College. Both locations had been commercial tracts, generating property taxes for

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Dana Lynn McIntyre February 12, 2024 No Comments
Awards/Celebrations

3rd generation family business celebrates 75th year

Nuts and bolts go together and without both, you can’t produce strong equipment. They are designed to work so that they strengthen whatever they are holding together. Stafford Nut and Bolt understands the concept, which is why they’ve been around for 75 years. The family-owned business was founded in 1949 and acquired by owner and President, James Stafford’s grandfather in 1952. Based in Augusta, Stafford Nut and Bolt specializes in industrial supply and has become a cornerstone of the local business landscape. James Stafford, the president and owner, reflected on the company’s

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Mitzi Oxford February 12, 2024 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Revitalizing the Downtown Augusta/Medical District area

A building on one of Augusta’s main thoroughfares has been re-purposed and was re-opened for business on Feb. 9, while work is underway at a well-known building on Broad Street. Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia and the CSRA have converted the former Rite Aid/Eckerd Drug store on 15th Street at Walton Way into its newest Goodwill Retail Training Store and Donation Center. “We commend the Goodwill organization for their work and workforce development, job skills, training, and hospitality, all of which are represented in their retail stores and their donation

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Dana Lynn McIntyre February 11, 2024 No Comments
B2B Stories

Sweet smell of baking success

With her husband’s encouragement, Angela Dragano started her own business three years ago, La Vita Bella, which means ‘It’s a beautiful life.’ Indeed, it’s been beautiful for this entrepreneur who has mastered custom cakes, catering, and event coordination from setup, to decorating and food. Last week, she moved her commercial kitchen from her home to a new location, 908 Dougherty Road in Aiken. La Vita Bella’s hours will vary depending on their custom catering and cake orders. The days and times the new shop will open to the public will

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Mitzi Oxford February 11, 2024 No Comments
Consumer Stories

CSRA businesses gear up to celebrate Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras celebrations kick off today, but tomorrow through Fat Tuesday, there are plenty of opportunities to Let the Good Times Roll right here at home! The party starts at NOLA Coffee tomorrow from 9:00 am till 5:00 pm. ABD has been following their progress from the beginning when they opened a popup cart in May of 2022. Owners, Mallory Adkison from New Orleans, and her husband, Jake serve up a cold brewed coffee that is rare in these parts, but a throwback to her New Orleans heritage. It caught

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Mitzi Oxford February 8, 2024 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Mental Health Matters: Love yourself, the helpers high

Next week marks the annual celebration of the national commercialized day of love, Valentine’s Day. A day to celebrate the ones we love through sharing cards, flowers, candy, gifts, and amazing dinners at our favorite restaurants. The cards, flowers, candy, gifts, and dinners will come and go within 24 hours. Will the impact of that day last and give us that ULTIMATE feel good to get us through another 365 days until the next Valentine’s Day? Probably not. Valentine’s Day is a day of giving, sharing, and love. The fact

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Monica Bitrick, Serenity Behavioral Health Systems February 8, 2024 No Comments
Consumer Stories

American Fiction: What’s in a Name?

One of the freshest stories to come from Hollywood last year (that didn’t involve a labor strike) was Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction, starring Jeffrey Wright, Sterling K. Brown, Leslie Uggams, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Issa Rae. The film, released in December and nominated for five Oscars, is an old-fashioned intelligent comedy with a mix of social satire, telling of a frustrated writer reckoning with a shifting, ever-trivial industry, and family responsibilities. Wright plays Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, an aging author and college professor in L.A. who can’t sell a new book.

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Dylan James February 7, 2024 No Comments
B2B Stories

The 411 on doing business with Georgia

Getting a government contract with the Peach State could be lucrative, but may seem like a daunting task. The Augusta Chamber and Rhodes Porter Business Development Management are providing a Special Edition Business Builder to help cut through some of the red tape. The registration deadline is tomorrow, Friday, February 9. Advanced registration is required at augustametrochamber.com/events. The Special Edition Business Builder – “Procurement in the Peach State” will be presented by Crystal Langley and Julian Bailey from the Georgia Department of Administrative Services (DOAS). The discussion will focus on how

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Staff Report February 7, 2024 No Comments
B2B Stories

Super spending anticipated for Valentine’s Day

The National Retail Federation (NRF) has released its prediction for how much consumers will spend on their beloved for Valentine’s Day and the outlook is rosy. A news release from NRF said total spending on significant others is expected to reach a record $14.2 billion this year. That’s according to an annual survey by NRF and Prosper Insights & Analytics. “Retailers are ready to help customers this Valentine’s Day with meaningful and memorable gifts,” NRF President and CEO, Matthew Shay said in the release. “With consumers prioritizing their spouse or

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Dana Lynn McIntyre February 7, 2024 No Comments
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