Indoor Winter Farmers’ Market opens Saturday

Farmer Tracy Monday of Enlightenment Acres is pictured at Winter Farmers Market in Oak Ridge in 2018. (Submitted photo)

More than 30 farmers, bakers, and artisan crafters are moving indoors Saturday, December 4, for the sixth season of the Winter Farmers’ Market, which will be open Saturdays through March from 9 a.m. to noon.

The market is located in the gym at St. Mary’s School at 323 Vermont Avenue in Oak Ridge. Customers may shop in person or choose curbside pickup or home delivery through the Market-To-Go program.

“The Winter Farmers’ Market brings local food and local folks together in a unique and fun way, with great food, live music, cooking demonstrations, free kids’ activities, artisan crafts, and more, indoors all winter,” said Rebecca Williams, director of Grow Oak Ridge, the local nonprofit that produces the market.

“We have two ways to shop again this year: in-person and online through Market-To-Go.”

The market offers an abundance of locally grown cool season produce like kale, spinach, lettuce, and gourmet mushrooms, and even some winter strawberries and tomatoes, a press release said. It also carries free-range eggs, pasture-raised meats, tilapia, local honey, artisan breads, pastries, unique handmade bath and body products, and handmade gifts from local artisans.

[Read more…]

Roane State launches business ownership certificate

Submitted

There are always pitfalls and challenges when launching a new business, and Roane State has started a new program to help fledgling entrepreneurs succeed.

The Business Ownership Certificate is a two-semester program that focuses on the most common barriers to startup companies, said Roane State Community College Associate Professor Mike Farmer, the college’s business program director.

“Business owners need to both be experts in their field and be ready for the hidden challenges of ownership,” Farmer said. “They must handle finances, taxes, business regulations, employee management, human resources, and advertising.”

[Read more…]

Oak Ridge Pharmacy named small business of month

Pictured above are Saad Aqqad, Allyson Neal, Brittany Moser, and Lindsey Rowland of Oak Ridge Pharmacy.

 

Oak Ridge Pharmacy was named the small business of the month in September by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

The pharmacy is located at 854 Main Street West.

The award is sponsored by Enrichment Federal Credit Union, a press release said.

“Driven by the desire to better meet the needs of customers he had served for many years at a large pharmacy, Saad Aqqad opened Oak Ridge Pharmacy in July 2019,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Land Bank has news conference about downtown development

Logo, company name

Description automatically generated

The Oak Ridge Land Bank will host a gathering on Friday, August 6, at 5 p.m. on Wilson Street near Rice Road. At 5:30 p.m., there will be a news conference regarding the land bank’s Request For Proposals to develop Downtown Oak Ridge, a press release said.

The Land Bank, representing the community interest with respect to the development of a downtown district, is releasing a RFP for the purchase and development of property in accordance with the adopted “vision” for this district, the press release said.

Over the decades, multiple plans have called for creating a place where Oak Ridgers can live, work, and play, the press release said. The Wilson Street corridor borders Main Street shopping near the new American Museum of Science and Energy and planned conference center, and it is easily accessible from Oak Ridge Turnpike and Alvin K. Bissell Park, the press release said. It provides a “great opportunity to finally have a distinctive, uniquely Oak Ridge place for people to gather,” the release said. “The existence of a more urban, densely-developed environment, featuring apartments, condos, restaurants, local shops, offices, and beautiful green space, will attract new and different businesses to Oak Ridge.”

[Read more…]

Five Below opens in second phase of Main Street Oak Ridge

The new Five Below store had a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Main Street Oak Ridge on Friday, July 16, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The first store has opened in the second phase of Main Street Oak Ridge.

The new store, Five Below, had a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday morning.

Five Below has many products priced between $1-$5, and some over $5. Products sold in the store include art and creative products, clothing and sporting items, candy, and technological equipment.

[Read more…]

Chicken Salad Chick opening in Oak Ridge

A Chicken Salad Chick restaurant is being built where Long John Silver’s used to be on Oak Ridge Turnpike. The new restaurant, expected to open soon, is pictured above on Sunday, July 4, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A Chicken Salad Chick restaurant is expected to open soon in Oak Ridge.

The new restaurant is being built where Long John Silver’s used to be on Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The menu at Chicken Salad Chick includes chicken salads, pimento cheese, sandwiches, soups and salads, and more. You can access the restaurant and catering menus here.

[Read more…]