Georgetown Main Street Program

Four male entrepreneurs will discuss doing business on the downtown Square as part of a Breakfast Bites panel discussion Wednesday, Feb. 22.

Mike Valencia, owner of Mikey V’s Hot Sauce Shop, Mesquite Creek Outfitters owners Cody Hirt and Brad Strittmatter, and Sincerely Yours 1848 owner Danny Solano will join moderator Jeff Baker of First Texas Bank to share a young man’s perspective of doing business on the Square.

The quarterly event is sponsored by the Georgetown Main Street Program and features current downtown topics and trends. In 2016, Hirt, Strittmatter and Solano opened their businesses that feature men’s and women’s clothing and accessories and, along with Valencia, created a space for a market that was often underrepresented in a shopping district noted for having products and services targeted toward women.

The event on Wednesday, Feb. 22 is from 8:30 to 9:50 a.m. in the Friends Room on the second floor of the Georgetown Public Library at 402 W. Eighth St. Breakfast snacks, coffee and drinks will be provided. Networking begins at 8 a.m.

The event is free and open to all.

Attendees should register by contacting Shelly Hargrove, Main Street manager for the City of Georgetown, no later than 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 20 at mainstreet@georgetown.org or (512) 930-2027. Main Street is a program of the City of Georgetown.

Celebrate the holiday season on the day after Thanksgiving at the annual Lighting of the Square event on Friday, November 25. The event will be held on the east steps of the historic Williamson County Courthouse, 710 S. Main Street, in downtown Georgetown. The festivities include entertainment from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Williamson County Commissioner Lisa Birkman and Georgetown Mayor Dale Ross will flip the switch illuminating the Courthouse lights and grounds at approximately 6 p.m. The lights around the Square are supported by Georgetown Utility Systems, your community-owned utility making our city 100% renewable in 2018.

Entertainment during the Lighting of the Square will be provided by the Austin Carolers and refreshments will be provided. Stores will be open until 8 p.m. Stop by The Williamson Museum on November 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. for children’s activities including making a luminaria.

Williamson County Brown Santa will offer pictures with Santa in the historic Courthouse after the lighting event from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Enter the courthouse on the south side. Photos are for an $8 donation.

Toy donations to Williamson County Brown Santa and the Georgetown Police Department Blue Santa are encouraged. Look for donation barrels at the Courthouse and at All Things Kids on Main Street. More information and applications are available at www.wilcobrownsanta.com for Brown Santa or bluesanta.georgetown.org for Blue Santa.

For details on holiday events and activities in Georgetown, call the Georgetown Convention & Visitors Bureau at (512) 930-3545, or visit or VisitGeorgetown.com.

A limited-edition collectible brass Christmas ornament featuring the P.H. Dimmitt and Co. Building at 801 S. Main Street is now on sale. The 10th annual ornament sale is a project of the Georgetown Main Street Program. Only 400 of the ornaments are available.

Ornaments may be purchased at the Visitors Center, 103 W. Seventh Street.

The cost of the ornament is $20. Payments by cash, check, or credit are accepted.

Built in 1901 as a hotel, the P.H. Dimmitt & Co. Building was later occupied by mercantile stores, a movie house, auto agency, drug store, dental office, and bus depot. The building was remodeled in 1960 by Georgetown Savings and Loan Association. Notable architectural features include Spanish arches, columns, and turrets of native stone.

All proceeds from the ornament sale fund Main Street projects and Façade Fund Grant Program.

What’s Next in Downtown? is the topic for the next Breakfast Bites quarterly meeting on November 16. Breakfast Bites is a quarterly business development event sponsored by the Georgetown Main Street Program.

The November 16 event features Michaela Dollar and Andreina Davila-Quintero, two City of Georgetown employees, who will talk about the City’s plan for development and retail recruitment.

Michaela Dollar is the director of economic development for the City of Georgetown. Before coming to Georgetown this summer, Dollar led business recruitment efforts for the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce and helped in the formation of the Williamson County Economic Development Partnership. Dollar previously worked for economic development organizations in Dallas, Cedar Hill, and Panama City, Florida where she focused on business recruitment, retention, marketing, and incentive negotiations.

Andreina Davila-Quintero has been a project coordinator with the City of Georgetown since 2013. Davila-Quintero worked for seven years as a municipal planner in cities in Texas, Florida and Venezuela before coming to Georgetown. In her current position, Davila-Quintero has played a key role in coordinating projects such as Georgetown’s Retail Strategy and Recruitment Plan and the Williams Drive Corridor Study.

The event on Wednesday, November 16 is from 8:30 to 9:50 a.m. in the Friends Room at the Georgetown Public Library, 402 W. Eighth Street. Breakfast snacks, coffee, and drinks will be provided. Networking starts at 8 a.m.

Attendees should pre-register by contacting Shelly Hargrove, Main Street manager, by 5 p.m. on Monday, November 14 at shelly.hargrove@georgetown.org or (512) 930-2027. Main Street is a program of the City of Georgetown.

Come find out about upcoming City projects and event updates at the next quarterly Downtown Lowdown meeting on Wednesday, October 19.

The informal meeting starts at 8:30 a.m. at Roots Bistro, 118 W. Eighth Street. Coffee and light breakfast snacks will be provided. There will be updates from City staff on:

• Art Center and Public Library events
• Historic Resource Survey update
• Downtown West update
• Austin Avenue Bridge update
• Proposed sidewalk and road projects in the downtown for fiscal year 2017
• Founders Park and VFW Park update
• City Vendor Forum invitation
• Retail Strategy and Recruitment Plan update
• Small Business Saturday invitation, 8th annual Georgetown Swirl, and Texas Downtown Association Conference
• Downtown sales tax trends

Also, find out about new businesses in the downtown district that have opened or are under construction.

If you plan to attend, please RSVP by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 18 to Jackson Daly at (512) 819-3115 or at jackson.daly@georgetown.org.

Where can you find the best comfort food in Georgetown? Where is the best meeting and event venue? The best catering? The best place to volunteer?

Tell us your favorites during the month of September in the Best of Georgetown, TX contest. Vote online at Bestof.Georgetown.org from September 1 to 30.

The top three winners in each category will be announced on Thursday, November 3 at 6 p.m. at Union on Eighth Street at 224 E. Eighth Street. The list of winners will be posted at Bestof.Georgetown.org.

Winning businesses receive window decals as well as certificates showing their award and category. In addition, the business name will be listed on the 2016 winners flyer at the Visitors Center and on the Bestof.Georgetown.org website for one year. Winners will have access to the Best of Georgetown 2016 logo for use in their websites and printed material.

The annual Best of Georgetown, TX contest is sponsored by the City of Georgetown Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Lessons Learned from Denton is the topic for the next Breakfast Bites quarterly meeting on August 17. Breakfast Bites is a quarterly business development event sponsored by the Georgetown Main Street Program.

Julie Glover, economic development program administrator for the City of Denton, will talk about downtown revitalization in Denton at the meeting. Denton’s courthouse square and downtown district features local restaurants, vintage boutiques, an independent book store, an ice cream parlor, a coffee shop, art studios, taverns, and a dance hall. Downtown events include First Friday, the Twilight Tunes spring concert series, a community market event held on the second Saturday each month, and Arts and Autos, a fall festival with artwork and cars in its 17th year. Georgetown and Denton are the only two cities in Texas to win the Great American Main Street Award from the National Main Street Center. Georgetown won in 1997 and Denton won in 1998.

Glover is a past recipient of the Texas Historic Commission’s Anice B. Read Award of Excellence in Community Heritage Development, and was awarded the 2015 Texas Downtown Association’s Susan H. Campbell Award for Professional Excellence. She has spoken on downtown revitalization and preservation topics at the National Main Street Conference, Texas Downtown Association Conference, Texas Municipal League Conference, the Texas Historical Commission Conference, Colorado and Illinois Annual Main Street Conferences, and in numerous Main Street communities.

The event on Wednesday, August 17 is from 8:30 to 9:50 a.m. in the Friends Room at the Georgetown Public Library, 402 W. Eighth Street. Breakfast snacks, coffee, and drinks will be provided. Networking starts at 8 a.m.

Attendees should pre-register by contacting Shelly Hargrove, Main Street manager, by 5 p.m. on Monday, August 15 at shelly.hargrove@georgetown.org or (512) 930-2027. Main Street is a program of the City of Georgetown.

Officials cut a big blue ribbon yesterday to mark the opening of the Sheraton Georgetown Texas Hotel and Conference Center.

The 222-room full-service hotel and conference center is at the Summit at Rivery Park development on Interstate 35. The hotel includes 30,000 square feet of meeting space with a 16,000-square-foot ballroom, four breakout rooms, and a state-of-the-art boardroom.

Other features of the hotel include a heated outdoor pool, a fitness center, the Lobby Lounge for casual dining, and the Brix and Ale, a restaurant offering classic comfort cuisine and drinks.

Paintings and sculptures from local artists are displayed throughout the hotel and conference center.

The Starwood hotel project by Novak Brothers and Hines was a public-private partnership including the City of Georgetown, Williamson County, and private investors.

The Summit at Rivery Park project also includes 223 apartment residences and 114 single-family brownstones.

Other restaurants and shops and are under construction at the mixed-use project.