Hey Athens.
I'm Andrew, the owner of Athens Scoop. Over 7,000+ people read our weekly newsletter about life in this town. About ~800 of you have told us you own a business here, and this is an email just for you to keep you connected to the entrepreneurial side of town.
Everything here is free. I want to help Athens businesses grow, and I think the best way to do that is to get us all in the same room and talking to each other. The businesses that thrive here are the ones that are connected.
Athens Scoop Business Lunch: Let's Pick a Date
The response to the Business Lunch idea has been strong. Now I need to nail down timing.
If you voted in the last edition, you're already on the list. If you didn't, this is your shot.
Format: ~10-12 local business owners, one Athens restaurant, no agenda, no pitch decks, no nametags.
When time works best for you? |
I'll lock the date and restaurant this week and send details to everyone who votes. Spots are limited.
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Five Candidates Are Running for Athens Mayor. Here's What Business Owners Should Know.
Athens voters will choose a new mayor on May 19. Kelly Girtz's second term is expiring, and five candidates have qualified: District 5 Commissioner Dexter Fisher, former commissioner Tim Denson, school board member LaKeisha Gantt, businesswoman Mara Zuniga, and pastor Sharon Miller.
For business owners, the platforms split on a few big questions: tax policy, small business support, and how much local government should shape economic development.
Fisher has the most institutional backing so far. Campaign finance filings show he's outraised every other candidate, with contributions from local property companies, the CEO of Zaxby's, and several UGA senior administrators. His average donation was nearly $900. His platform centers on fiscal responsibility, workforce readiness, and public safety.
Gantt has been the most specific about small business policy. Her main focus is to delegate procurement opportunities to minority- and women-owned businesses and has proposed a PILOT program, a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement, that would have UGA contribute revenue toward affordable housing and community infrastructure.
Denson, co-founder of Athens for Everyone, is the grassroots candidate. His average donation was $78. He's proposed a community hub offering healthcare, childcare, and mental health services under one roof. Two sitting commissioners, Melissa Link and Carol Myers, have endorsed him.
Zuniga runs an environmental company with her husband and manages a family cattle farm. She's the only Republican-leaning candidate in the nonpartisan race, and her platform leans on fiscal accountability, public safety, and reducing government spending.
Miller, a senior pastor for AME churches in Athens and Jefferson, has focused on affordable housing and community engagement but has limited public campaign infrastructure at this point.
The election is May 19. All five candidates debated at Piedmont Medical Center in February, and more forums are expected before the vote. If you're a business owner who wants a say in what the next four years look like, this is the one to pay attention to.
Team Bernstein Wants to Send Customers to Your Business. For Free.
Team Bernstein, the Lisa and Jason Bernstein-led real estate group at eXp Realty, runs a VIP Perks and Discounts Program that's open to anyone in Athens, not just their real estate clients. It's a free community program that gives members exclusive deals at local businesses and national brands like Home Depot, UPS, HelloFresh, Sherwin-Williams, and Hotels.com.
Members sign up online and access their perks through an app or web browser. Each participating business provides either a discount code, a special online offer, or an in-store perk. The list keeps growing as more local partners come on.
Here's the part that matters for you: becoming a vendor is completely free. No cost to join, no fees. Team Bernstein's audience is exactly who most Athens businesses want to reach, people who are active in the community, spending locally, and looking for trusted recommendations. Your business gets featured alongside names like Home Depot and UPS in a program that's being actively promoted to Athens families.
If you want in, reach out to Jocelyn at Jocelyn@AthensGAHomes.com or call 720.556.7826. You can also click "Become a Vendor" directly at AthensGAHomes.com.
That's Edition 5. If you know something I should cover, whether it's a business opening, closing, hiring, expanding, or doing something worth paying attention to, reply to this email. I read all of them. If you want to learn more about sponsoring Athens Scoop, click here.
We also built a free business directory at athenscoop.com/directory for Athens business owners. Your listing gets seen by our 7,000+ readers and gives your business an SEO boost with 5-10 backlinks to our site. No cost to join. Let us know at the bottom of that website or here and we'll get you set up.
Talk soon.