Are you an overwhelmed business owner? Maybe you’re a confused employee? Are you finding it challenging to digest all of the information distributed regarding the CARES Act, the Payroll Protection Plan, SBA Loans?
featured
On the day before Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ statewide safer-at-home order was set to go into effect, some people were trying to sort out which businesses would be considered “essential” and remain open.
featured top story
WEST VILLAGES — “May fortune favor the foolish. … Or the bold. I’ve heard it both ways.”
featured
The timing of the COVID-19 pandemic couldn’t have been worse for local restaurateurs who’d been aiming for a spring or summer launch.
Many people who know me will confirm that I don’t get “writer’s block.” Ever. I once told someone — and not very humbly I might add — that I could write about any topic given to me, including a knat.
What a sad commentary on our times when scammers see the coronavirus outbreak as another opportunity to con a buck.
topical featured
VENICE — Colorado-based Lucky’s Market — which was set to build a new store in Venice — announced Friday that Aldi Inc. was the winning bidder for the lease on its Venice and Sarasota properties.
A Business Damage Assessment survey has been activated to assess the impact of the coronavirus on Florida's local business operations.
Gov. Ron DeSantis activated the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program to support small businesses impacted by the coronavirus.
There was a great deal of public discussion last week regarding our community’s increased participation with the Charlotte County Tourism Development Council.
The first priority of the Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce is to always maintain healthy protocols for our business community and the citizens they serve. That’s you.
featured
We sure do love our restaurants. Some of us dine out daily. For retirees, it’s a new occupation. But at a Bradenton restaurant recently, a whole table was seen passing around, not the bread, but a bottle of hand sanitizer.
featured top story
Say you’re an Englewood restaurant that’s survived 65 revolving-door years of new owners and new names. Think about it.
The Englewood Chamber of Commerce strives to improve the quality of life for three segments of our population: the local businesses, the residents and the tourists.
I just couldn’t wait any longer to share the news with you all. This project has been developing (in my mind) for years and it’s time for the big “TA-DA!”
The little treasures that can found when cleaning out old files in an even much older building are fascinating. Take, for instance, a yellowed and tattered newspaper section from the Dec. 21, 1899 edition of The National Tribune: Washington, D.C.
The speaker for the next Business and Professional Women of Englewood and Venice dinner meeting will be Beth “Annie” Stockdale.
featured
Sometimes you can eat nonstop from one end of Laishley Park to the other. Next week will be no exception.
February … the month of love.
The Leadership Charlotte Class of 2020 is proud to be “Running Towards the Future!” The 25 class members are actively planning events to raise the necessary funds for their selected class project. It is tradition for each Leadership Charlotte class to complete a class project which will have…
featured
Sometimes you can eat nonstop from one end of Laishley Park to the other. Next week will be no exception.
featured top story
ENGLEWOOD — No tacos yet.
Do you need some new tires for your car? Does your truck need an oil change?
Small business representatives … heck, large ones too, for that matter … are invited to a “Boost with Facebook” training and networking session in partnership with the Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce on Thursday at 9 a.m. at the Cultural Center
An enthusiastic crowd filled The Hills Restaurant at Rotonda on Thursday for the annual Chamber Banquet and Awards Ceremony. The evening included:
Back when food fusions were young, pineapple on pizza was too much for some people.
On Thursday evening, the Englewood Chamber will host its annual banquet and awards ceremony at The Hills Restaurant, 100 Rotonda Circle.
In 2010 there was only one local source of sushi: Japanese-owned Amimoto Japanese Restaurant in Punta Gorda. Now there are 20 more, from Venice to Englewood.
top story
Jennifer Clark and husband Robert Rance just survived a first birthday at their Charlotte Harbor café, Mean Jeanne’s Riverside Restaurant. Most independent restaurants close within their first year. They hope they’ll keep on going.
There’s no better way to begin the chamber’s New Year than to recognize the outstanding businesses and organizations of the previous year. That’s what the chamber will be doing next week, on Feb. 6, at The Hills Restaurant at the Rotonda Golf and Country Club, 100 Rotonda Cirlce, Rotonda West.
This will be a light week for Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce planned events. Perhaps it’s a blessing in disguise with our members so busy in the positive-but-full onslaught of their busy season. The board of directors will converge this evening for the monthly board meeting as we quick…
The Charlotte County powers-that-be hosted the “One Charlotte, One Water Assembly” last week at the Cultural Center of Charlotte County. The nine general objectives were clearing outlined, but those nine tiny bullet points couldn’t disguise the magnitude of the words.
It’s a wonderful thing that the general public feels confident that the Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce has the answer to just about everything. And I mean everything. Back in the day when the world relied on phone books, the calls would come in from folks for us to look up numbers for …
featured top story
ENGLEWOOD — While area residents gear up to fight plans for a 7-11 convenience store at State Road 776 and Manasota Beach Road, DiVosta Homes has announced plans Wednesday for a new residential development nearby.
Gina Taylor of Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Sun Coast was the speaker at Jan. 21 dinner meeting of the Business and Professional Women of Englewood and Venice.
NORTH PORT — Though gone, John Zagrobelny still impacts North Port.
breaking topical featured
VENICE — With word coming out Tuesday that Lucky’s Market is closing all but one Florida store, Venice residents are wondering if that means the new market is closed before it ever opened.
ENGLEWOOD — The 33rd Annual Englewood Bank & Trust Invitational Art Festival kicks off this Saturday.
Did you know the Englewood Chamber has a place for you to learn about all of the happenings going on in the Englewood area?
PUNTA GORDA — The name Gasparilla Soap Company is appearing in more places in Southwest Florida and has now spread as far as Alaska. Owner and founder Ann Campbell fills us in on the small, but growing company.
Once a restaurant changes its marquee, you can bet there’s more change afoot in its kitchen.
featured
NORTH PORT — A Punta Gorda sod company is owed $45,270.
topical featured top story
VENICE — One of the largest internet companies and the second-largest private employer in the United States is staking some ground just outside Venice city limits.
The Blue Lagoon Restaurant — once a private home with pool and boat lift, later Grove City’s fine dining center— sat deserted on the banks of Oyster Creek for three-and-a-half years, while locals speculated.
topical featured
WEST VILLAGES — All the world is a stage, but the Atlanta Braves are wanting to share their piece of it with area residents with talents beyond hitting and pitching.
Technically speaking, the Victorian Era ended two years before the Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce’s A.C. Freeman House was built in Punta Gorda in 1903. The Edwardian Era had kicked off, but that doesn’t mean our happy home is any less Victorian in grace and style. It is stately, beaut…
Well, this will be an adventure! The next two Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce monthly membership meetings, the Third Wednesday Coffee, will be on the road. We are quite cozy in our usual space at the Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center, but on Wednesday, Feb. 19, we’ll attend a…
If you can’t find something to please your palate at two new local restaurants, it’s not their fault. Their missions, though different, are to offer everyone something they like.
North Port police are looking for help finding a man who sexually battered a 15-year-old girl.