UPCOMING EVENTS • Food Truck Festival at Gogue Performing Arts Center: April 17 (www.AO tourism.com/ Event/41205/Food-Truck-Festival-at-the-Gogue/) • Old 280 Boogie at Standard Deluxe: April 17 (www.aotourism.com/Event/40894/Spring-OldBoogie/) • Auburn City Fest at Kiesel Park: April 24 (www. aotourism.com/Event/41244/20th-Annual-AuburnCityFest/) • Thirteenth Annual Storybook Farm Kentucky Derby Day at Storybook Farm: May 1 (www.aotourism.com/Event41417/13th-Annual-StorybookFarm-Kentucky-Derby-Day/) • On Tap Craft Beer Event in downtown Opelika: May 8 (www.opelikamainstreet.org/calendar) • City Market at Town Creek Park: May 29 (www.aotourism.com/Event/41220/City-Market/)
(1007 Ave. B, Opelika)
Letter from the Associate Editor
W
hat do you think of when you hear the word downtown? I think of small businesses, run by people who truly care about their communities. What would Auburn or Opelika be without their thriving downtowns? Recently, I was with some friends in downtown Opelika (all of us Auburn alumni, by the way). One of my friends was visiting from out of town and told me, ‘wow, I had no idea Opelika was so cool.’ That was me two years ago. I was familiar with Auburn’s downtown because I was an Auburn student. But when I graduated, I began to explore my area, and surrounding
areas, a little more closely. I discovered Opelika and its thriving small-business community. And I began to learn more about the businesses in Auburn that I had taken for granted. Lately, I’ve been working to cultivate relationships with smallbusiness owners. Now, when I take a stroll down Magnolia Avenue or South College Street, I can pop my head in several small businesses and give a wave and hello to those working behind the counter, because I now know them personally. It’s easy to do the same thing in Opelika. The area is all about community — forming relationships and fellowship with those who are just passing through or who have lived their whole lives in Lee County.
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We created a downtown issue to highlight the importance of these businesses for our area. Inside, learn about what Opelika Main Street and Auburn’s Downtown Association are, and what they do. Read more about a coffee shop with a ‘pay what you want’ model. Read about businesses that have had a foothold in the community for years, and some that are just getting started. And please, as our communities recover from the pandemic, consider supporting our small businesses.
