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Retailer growing near Augusta Mall

Besides the Augusta Mall, there is some growth going on in the outskirts of the mall. One longtime retailer and community partner expanded efforts in that area by re-imagining some space. Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia retrofitted its 3362 Wrightsboro Road retail store to form a dedicated donation center. The next step is that Goodwill officials are scouting out a new retail spot in the same vicinity. January 29 marked the final day of retail operations. “This transition allows us to continue serving the community while we prepare for what’s next,”

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B2B Stories

Company expands to 3rd location in time for Masters

A successful grad from the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts is adding onto her Evans brick-and-mortar bakery and her longtime location at the Augusta Market. Arie’s Artisan Cheesecake shop is moving into the former Dirty Dough cookie spot off Walton Way Extension near Wheeler Road in West Augusta. A big part of Arielle Page’s business is event catering, corporate gifts, and selling wholesale to restaurants, hotels, and coffee shops. Page worked with Jordan Trotter Commercial Real Estate, the plaza management company, and shared this statement with them.

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B2B Stories

Updating a visitor’s destination on the Savannah River

The downtown Augusta hotel that overlooks the Savannah River has started an interior renovation project, and Augusta Business Daily has several photos of where some of the work will be done. This marks the first large-scale upgrade since it became the Augusta Marriott Hotel & Suites in Jan. 2006. It opened in Feb. 1992 as the Radisson Riverfront Hotel and Country Suites.  “We’re in the process of going through just an overall improvement plan within the hotel. We’re focusing on case goods, soft goods,” General Manager Brendan England explained for ABD.  Case goods

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B2B Stories

Renovations in progress for familiar downtown Augusta hotel

A Charleston developer can take inspiration from hotels like the Rand Tower Hotel in Minneapolis, Minnesota. That hotel and a fifty-year-old property at 600 Broad Street in Augusta are now part of Marriott’s Tribute portfolio.  The Marriott website said the Tribute portfolio is “A family of independent boutique hotels bound by their indie spirit and heart for connecting people and places.” Breakwater, a Charleston-based company, is undertaking a major renovation of the Ramada hotel, first opened in 1974 as the Executive House Hotel. The I.M. Pei-designed building was renamed Ramada

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Consumer Stories

Windsor Jewelers, Doctors Hospital, and Gerald Jones Auto Group

Scouts honor a small business legend in the CSRA. Donnie Thompson will be the guest of honor next week at a special award ceremony put on by the Georgia-Carolina Council Scouting America chapter in Columbia County. Thompson will receive the distinguished citizens award at a luncheon next Tuesday, February 5th.  He’ll be introduced by a good friend and business colleague, Andy Jones from the Gerald Jones Auto Group. Each year, the two businessmen help pay for a free, patriotic fireworks show called “Thunder over Evans.”  The keynote speaker will be

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B2B Stories

FBI man becomes CSRA businessman to continue investigations

Chuck McKee spent 20 years working for the FBI. Now he leads the FBIS (Forensic Brothers Investigation Services) unit in the Augusta/Aiken area and TrustVault.  TrustVault is a “Good Housekeeping-like seal of approval” for people’s character and perhaps the companies they work for. McKee’s FBI career brought him to the Augusta region in 2005, and he worked in the following fraud divisions: Healthcare Mortgage—McKee investigated those who misrepresented their mortgage applications related to employment, bank account information, property repairs, and more. Counterintelligence—McKee looked into employees at Fort Gordon, NSA, Plant

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Consumer Stories

Connecting CSRA medical needs with business good deeds

The founder of the nation’s largest human resource company for small and medium businesses has made a $50 million investment in the Wellstar Children’s Hospital of Georgia (WCHOG).  The investment by Tom Golisano, founder of Paychex, brings WCHOG into a national consortium of children’s hospitals.   “Children’s hospitals are essential to the health and future of our communities, and each one serves families with unique needs and challenges,” said Golisano in the news release announcing the investment. “The team at Wellstar Children’s Hospital of Georgia has a deep commitment to advancing

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B2B Stories

Georgia joins new federal tax credit program; Augusta benefits

A new education tax credit will soon be available to Georgia families following a Tuesday announcement by Gov. Brian Kemp (R).  Kemp said the state is opting in to a program through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The credit became available as a provision of the Trump Administration’s most recent tax package, approved last year. It is an individual, dollar-for-dollar tax credit.  During his press conference, Kemp said this latest step is in the same vein as the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act, through which families can use tax dollars to choose education

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B2B Stories

Investment firm acquires iconic Augusta hotel

A West Augusta hotel is about to get a serious makeover to the tune of $12 million. It’s the largest investment in upgrading an area hotel since a $10 million investment was made about four years ago in Augusta. The DoubleTree by Hilton Augusta on 2651 Perimeter Parkway near I-20 and I-520 was recently acquired by an affiliate of Flacks Group, a Miami-based investment firm. Flacks has selected StepStone Hospitality to manage the property. The planned renovation will include refreshed guest rooms, upgraded public areas, a reimagined food and beverage experience, new

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: Steady Georgialina Economy

We finished strong in 2025. The Augusta Leading Economic Index (LEI) increased by 0.4 percent in October and 0.1 percent in November. In November, the LEI was 1.3 percent higher than a year ago. Residential building permits increased in October but fell back in November. Initial claims for unemployment insurance increased in both months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average continued its strong growth in the fourth quarter. After several months of declining job openings, October and November saw increased job openings. The November employment weighted average of job openings in

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