TALLAHASSEE, FL \u2014 Northeast Tallahassee is experiencing a surge in economic growth as new housing, restaurants and retail spaces open in this area.<\/p>\n
WATCH FULL REPORT BELOW:<\/p>\n
Northeast Tallahassee attracts new restaurants and retail spaces amid a rapidly growing local economy<\/p>\n
Leaders of long-established businesses are taking notice.<\/p>\n
Jacob Ogden, vice president of Hopkins\u2019 Eatery<\/a>, is planning to open the family\u2019s fourth location in Bannerman Crossing at the former Rae\u2019s Restaurant location.<\/p>\n “It’s such an up-and-coming area. It’s such busy traffic. There’s all these nice places around it, you know, places to get your nails done, shopping, Chiles High School, the Target and the neighborhoods are just constantly growing right now,” Ogden said.<\/p>\n “There’s always new houses being built and just seemed like an obvious next step for us.\u201d<\/p>\n The new restaurant follows the success of their location in the Market District<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThat store is our busiest location,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Leon County Commissioner Brian Welch said the area’s quality of life and infrastructure\u2014including roads, parks, and bridges\u2014are drawing residents, which attracts new businesses.<\/p>\n “My job as a county commissioner is just to make sure that we have an incredible quality of life in our community and that quality of life is what attracts businesses to come here,” Welch said.<\/p>\n That attraction is producing wins for the economy.<\/p>\n Newly released data<\/a> from the Office of Economic Vitality reveals Tallahassee surpassed the state in economic growth in 2024.<\/p>\n The local economy grew by 4.3%, beating Florida\u2019s average of 3.3%.<\/p>\n Most of that growth came from the private sector, which includes small businesses.<\/p>\n The momentum shows no signs of slowing down.<\/p>\n Roughly 67 businesses<\/a> activated their utilities across Leon County as of late 2025, indicating more businesses are coming soon.<\/p>\n “Obviously, small businesses are the backbone of our community. They’re the backbone of our economy, they create jobs, they provide tax revenue and so we want to support them,” Welch said.<\/p>\n Other new businesses coming to Northeast Tallahassee include a new Culver\u2019s, Surcheros, Starbucks and SunStop.<\/p>\n Ogden hopes to open the new Hopkins\u2019 Eatery within the month.<\/p>\n It is the first opening he is managing, and it will be the first location to sell alcoholic beverages.<\/p>\n “I hope it goes gangbusters immediately, and I’m pretty sure that it will. It’s going to be the first one that we sell drinks \u2014 alcoholic beverages,” Ogden said.<\/p>\n This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.<\/p>\n Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website. <\/a><\/p>\n Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.<\/p>\n Like us on Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n Follow us on Instagram <\/a>and X.<\/a><\/p>\n