{"id":8934,"date":"2025-10-17T21:54:43","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T21:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/8934\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T21:54:43","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T21:54:43","slug":"city-establishes-plan-to-support-st-petes-legacy-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/8934\/","title":{"rendered":"City establishes plan to support St. Pete\u2019s \u2018legacy\u2019 businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"

St. Petersburg is home to over 4,200 businesses that have served residents for at least two decades, despite many others falling victim to soaring costs and exponential growth.<\/p>\n

City officials are establishing a new initiative to highlight and support those legacy businesses, defined as \u201cdeeply rooted establishments that have shaped our city\u2019s identity, economy<\/a> and regional character.\u201d The nascent program is Councilmember Gina Driscoll\u2019s brainchild.<\/p>\n

Her colleagues on the Economic and Workforce Development Committee lauded the proposed initiative and offered feedback Thursday. The overarching goal is to increase recognition and patronage for small businesses that define the city<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cLately, in St. Petersburg, we\u2019ve lamented the departure<\/a> of some of our longstanding businesses,\u201d Driscoll said. \u201cWe are welcoming new residents and new businesses all the time, and we want to make sure we maintain those things that make St. Petersburg so special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several cities nationwide have similar programs. Boston\u2019s legacy business initiative supports establishments in operation for 10 years; Washington, D.C.\u2019s threshold is 20.<\/p>\n

St. Petersburg\u2019s program will highlight the 4,245 businesses that have been a part of the community for at least 20 years. \u201cWe\u2019re thinking maybe 30 at a time, and we would do two sessions a year,\u201d said Brian Caper, economic development director.<\/p>\n

Officials will showcase legacy businesses through an interactive map and gallery on the city\u2019s website. A free marketing package includes recognition on social media channels, window decals, press releases featuring \u201cstories of invaluable contributions\u201d and a dedicated webpage.<\/p>\n

The city will also host legacy business events that offer specialized training sessions and panel discussions covering retirement and succession planning, social media marketing, lease negotiation and financial counseling. Economic development specialist Brittany Cagle said interviews with owners would allow them to share success stories and longevity tips<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cagle said a nomination process would \u201creally help us identify any businesses we may have missed.\u201d Administrators would then contact those owners and encourage them to apply.<\/p>\n

Selection requires two letters of support from non-relatives who can help verify a business owner\u2019s qualifications, credibility and impact. The city will reevaluate participants every three years.<\/p>\n

Driscoll said the current proposal is a \u201cstep one\u201d during a \u201clean budget year.\u201d While she would like to offer financial incentives, the recognition and marketing support will help propel businesses that have contributed to St. Petersburg\u2019s attractiveness and growth.<\/p>\n

Councilmember Richie Floyd noted the importance of succession planning. He said about 80% of owners do not sell their small businesses to someone who will keep it intact.<\/p>\n

Floyd believes supporting employee or management ownership would help ensure legacy businesses continue operating once their founders retire. \u201cI think that would be a really innovative and forward-thinking way for us to push this forward,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The committee unanimously approved issuing window decals to designate participants. The only debate centered around what logo the city should use.<\/p>\n

Council Chair Copley Gerdes suggested using an anchor to symbolize the city and the establishment\u2019s impact. He called the program a \u201creally cool thing, just on this level\u201d and agreed that officials could implement future enhancements.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Fresco\u2019s Waterfront Bistro, a staple since 2003, faces an uncertain future as the city redevelops the St. Petersburg Municipal Marina.<\/p>\n

Councilmember Deborah Figgs-Sanders wants to ensure equitable distribution. She and her colleagues can nominate businesses, and administrators will highlight participants by district.<\/p>\n

Figgs-Sanders also questioned the program\u2019s expense. While some potential promotional items \u2013 welcome mats \u2013 are more expensive than others, Caper said window decals are \u201chigh visibility, but low cost and easier to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s economic development department will fund the initiative from its $500,000 small business programming budget. Cagle will oversee operations, eliminating the need for additional staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are planning to be lean and mean and \u2026. still provide a lot for these legacy businesses,\u201d Driscoll pledged.<\/p>\n

Caper said the city could tailor promotional packages according to business type and age. For example, those in operation for 50 years could receive gold or platinum placards rather than silver.<\/p>\n

Caper and Cagle will consider the committee\u2019s feedback and present a program update in July or August. The full city council must then approve its launch.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe storytelling part is my favorite part,\u201d Driscoll said. \u201cWe want these longstanding businesses. We want to help preserve them, and we want them to be able to say our story is St. Pete\u2019s story. That\u2019s the path you\u2019re on right now, and I\u2019m grateful for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Potential Legacy Business program logos. Image: City of St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"St. Petersburg is home to over 4,200 businesses that have served residents for at least two decades, despite…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8935,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-8934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8934\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}