(Seguin) — Top downtown businesses and organizations are not going unnoticed.
The Seguin Main Street Program is recognizing the accomplishments and honoring those individuals, businesses and organizations that have made an impact on downtown Seguin over the past year.
Beautification of the Year – Dustin and Natalie Jones
The Segun Main Street Advisory Board recently selected four honorees to be recognized during its Moonlight & Roses event.
Kyle Kramm, Seguin Main Street and CVB director, say for Downtowner of the Year, the award recognizes the entity that had the largest impact on downtown. He says this year, that winner was the Burnt Bean Company which opened in January of 2021. He says owners include Ernest Servantes and David Kirkland.
“For Downtowner of the Year, the award to recognize the entity that had the largest impact on downtown, the Board selected Burnt Bean Company. The restaurant opened in January of 2021 and quickly the word got out about their food which led to large crowds coming to downtown Seguin. The crowds grew even more when they were named #4 best bar-b-que in the state by Texas Monthly Magazine. The crowds coming to downtown Seguin for Burnt Bean’s bar-b-que are helping all downtown businesses as the hungry customers explore and shop other downtown businesses. For putting downtown Seguin on the map for the bar-b-que enthusiasts, the Main Street Advisory Board is pleased to recognize the team at Burnt Bean Company,” said Kramm.
Kramm says the next award presented was the Volunteer of the Year award.
“The next award presented was the Volunteer of the Year award. The 2020-2021 Seguin Leadership Class selected upgrades to Heritage Village as its class project. The class raised over $50,000 to construct sidewalks, install picnic tables and fencing, and plant new landscaping. The class also put in manual labor removing old landscaping and planting new plants. The class also developed an informational guide, one for adults and one for children, that shares information on the properties. Thanks to the work of the leadership class, Heritage Village will remain one of the top attractions for locals and visitors, providing all with an extensive history lesson about Seguin’s early days,” said Kramm.
The next award to be presented was the 2021 Beautification Project. He says this year’s honorees were Natalie and Dustin Jones who got to work rehabbing a downtown space for commercial tenants.
Volunteer of the Year – Seguin Leadership Class of 2021 represented by Liz Hilssdorf and Debbie Pedigo
‘The 2021 Beautification Project was presented to Natalie and Dustin Jones. The Jones’ purchase 114 South Austin in early 2021 and got to work rehabbing the building to get it ready for commercial tenants. The second floor of the building sat vacant for decades, but the Jones quickly found the right tenant for the upstairs and began the process of bringing the space up to code for occupancy. The work included a new staircase and elevator, new plumbing, and new electric. They also worked to preserve as much historic material as possible, including the hardwood floors, architectural arches, and wooden windows. Once work was complete on the second floor, work began on the first floor to get ready for Southern Good to expand into a new space. The couple invested a lot of money and hard work to make their dream of being downtown property owners a reality,” said Kramm.
Kramm says the final award of the evening was the annual Dynamic Downtown Business Award presented to Second Story Dance Company and owner, Amanda Gold.
“For the final award of the evening, Dynamic Downtown Business Award, was presented to Second Story Dance Company. The owner, Amanda Gold, has talked with Seguin Main Street for years about wanting to find a downtown location, and we are pleased to say that finally came to reality this year when she opened her studio in August. Moving to downtown allowed her to grow her business by adding a second classroom. Not only has adding her business to downtown helped her business, but other businesses are seeing a benefit. By adding her business to downtown Seguin, hundreds of families are coming to downtown on a weekly basis and the parents are out shopping and frequenting the stores while their children are dancing,” said Kramm.
Dynamic Downtown Business – Second Story Dance Co., Amanda Gold.
The annual awards have been presented to local downtown recipients over the past 20 years. This year’s event was held on Friday April 1 in the Memorial Rose Garden located at Walnut Spring Park.