Let's Talk Valdosta with Valdosta Main Street

Downtown Valdosta is the home to an estimated 800 businesses with approximately 8,200 jobs, representing 20% of the city’s total jobs. The average downtown business has 10 jobs per establishment. A lot of effort goes in behind the scenes to keep the heart of our city more vibrant than ever! It is all done by a two-person team with Main Street Director Ellen Hill and Main Street Program Coordinator Rachel Thrasher. In 2020 we welcomed 5 new businesses that brought approximately 32 new jobs and $400,000 of investment to our downtown. While the shutdown was not an ideal situation to be in for restaurants and retail businesses, many of the downtown merchants decided to rise to the challenge of reinventing their business models to fit with the restrictions and were successful.  In this episode, we cover the latest updates from Valdosta Main Street and what's to come in 2021.