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Nassau County Chamber of Commerce Blog

Local Barberitos Owners Named as Franchisees of the Year

2/24/2021

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Barberitos, a fast-casual burrito restaurant with 50 locations across the Southeast, named Kate and Bobby Wilder as its 2020 Franchisees of the Year Award recipients.

The award was presented at the chain’s annual National Franchisee Convention held virtually Jan. 27.

The Franchisee of the Year Award recognizes a franchisee for overall sales, active participation in its community, creating a positive work team environment, encouraging team members, utilizing the Barberitos App, involvement in Barberitos corporate initiatives, attending Barberitos webinars and meetings, and embodying the Barberitos’ brand.

These characteristics support Barberitos’ mission statement to serve others with a focus on food, community and people. The Wilders’ own four Barberitos’ locations that include the restaurants at 1519 Sadler Road in Fernandina Beach and 463867 State Road 200 in Yulee. They also own restaurants in Jacksonville and St. Marys, Ga.

“To win this award is a tremendous honor, and we are so thankful for our incredible teams at each location that played such an integral role in us receiving this recognition,” Bobby Wilder said. “Even more so during this difficult year, it has become our passion to make a difference in the community serving our fresh, healthy food and providing firstclass customer service.”

Barberitos is a Southwestern Grille dedicated to serving farmfresh, high-quality food in a fastcasual restaurant environment. Many of the restaurants’ menu items are prepared or cooked in-house daily, including handsmashed guacamole, homemade salsas, fresh-cut vegetables as well as chicken, steak, turkey, pork, tofu, rice and beans.

“Kate and Bobby always believe in the brand and embody everything we value in a franchisee,” Barberitos founder and CEO Downing Barber said. “During 2021, we hope all of our operators can make as big an impact in the community as the Wilders have done.”

For more information about Barberitos, visit www.barberitos.com.

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Barnabas New To You Resale Store Will Soon Expand to Yulee

2/24/2021

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Barnabas Center will be opening a second New to You Resale Store in Yulee in late spring 2021. Income earned from sales throughout the Yulee store will help support expanded services in west Nassau county. This includes medical and dental care, food assistance and crisis assistance.

The Yulee New to You resale store will be located at the corner of US-17 and State Road 200. In addition, donations of gently used clothing, furniture, household, and other items are currently being accepted at New to You Resale Store’s Fernandina Beach location at 930 South 14th Street.
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For more information, call Barnabas Center at (904) 261-7000. 

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SBA Prioritizes Smallest of Small Businesses in the Paycheck Protection Program

2/24/2021

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Steps to Promote Equitable Relief for Mom-and-Pop Businesses

February 22, 2021 | Release Number 21-17
Contact U.S. Small Business Administration at Press_Office@sba.gov


WASHINGTON – Building on a month of strong results, the Biden-Harris Administration and the U.S. Small Business Administration are taking steps with the Paycheck Protection Program to further promote equitable relief for America’s mom-and-pop businesses. 

The latest round of Paycheck Protection Program funding opened one month ago and already the Biden Administration has succeeded in making major improvements to the program’s implementation:
  • For businesses with fewer than ten employees, the share of funding is up nearly 60%
  • For businesses in rural communities, the share of funding is up nearly 30%
  • The share of funding distributed through Community Development Financial Institutions and Minority Depository Institutions is up more than 40%
     
“The SBA is a frontline agency working to create an inclusive economy, focused on reaching women-owned, minority-owned, low- and moderate-income, rural, and other underserved communities in meaningful ways. While reported data illustrates we have made real strides in ensuring these funds are reaching underserved communities, we believe we can still do better,” says SBA Senior Advisor Michael Roth. “The important policy changes we are announcing further ensure inclusivity and integrity by increasing access and much-needed aid to Main Street businesses that anchor our neighborhoods and help families build wealth.”

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These simple progressive steps by the Biden-Harris Administration further demonstrate the commitment to racial and gender equity, reaching low and moderate-income, rural, urban, and other underserved areas. The SBA will:
  • Establish a 14-day, exclusive PPP loan application period for businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 20 employees
  • Allow sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals to receive more financial support by revising the PPP’s funding formula for these categories of applicants
  • Eliminate an exclusionary restriction on PPP access for small business owners with prior non-fraud felony convictions, consistent with a bipartisan congressional proposal
  • Eliminate PPP access restrictions on small business owners who have struggled to make federal student loan payments by eliminating federal student loan debt delinquency and default as disqualifiers to participating in the PPP; and
  • Ensure access for non-citizen small business owners who are lawful U.S. residents by clarifying that they may use Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to apply for the PPP.
     
The 14-day exclusivity period will start on Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 9 a.m., while the other four changes will be implemented by the first week of March. The SBA is working on the program changes and will communicate details throughout this week.

These actions will help to lay the foundation for a robust and equitable recovery for small businesses across the country. Small businesses employ nearly half of the American workforce; they create 2 out of 3 net new private-sector jobs; they reinvest 68% of revenues to build and sustain communities. Borrowers can apply for the Paycheck Protection Program by downloading the First Draw PPP loan application or Second Draw PPP loan application and working with a participating PPP lender through the SBA Lender Match tool.

​Through SBA’s nationwide district offices, the Agency will work in close partnership with the Administration to further leverage its resource partner network and expand on multilingual access and outreach about the PPP. Updated PPP information, including forms, guidance, and resources is available at www.sba.gov/ppp and www.treasury.gov/cares.

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About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.­
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Barnabas Center March 2021 Drive-Thru Food Assistance

2/23/2021

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New Flounder Regulations are Effective March 1st

2/22/2021

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Press Release
February 21, 2021

Starting March 1, the following changes will go into effect for flounder:


  • Extending ALL Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) flounder regulations into federal waters.
  • Increasing the minimum size limit from 12 inches to 14 inches total length (recreational and commercial).
  • Reducing the recreational daily bag limit from 10 to five fish per person.
  • Establishing an Oct. 15 through Nov. 30 recreational closed season.
  • For commercial harvesters using allowable gear: Establishing a commercial trip and vessel limit of 150 fish from Dec. 1 – Oct. 14, and 50 fish from Oct. 15 – Nov. 30.
  • Modifying the incidental bycatch limit for commercial harvesters using non-allowable gear from 50 pounds/trip to 50 fish/trip.
  • Creating a federal waters trawl bycatch limit of 150 fish/trip from Dec. 1 – Oct. 14, and 50 fish/trip from Oct. 15 – Nov. 30.

The Commission approved these changes at its December 2020 meeting because a stock status update suggested that the flounder fishery statewide has been in a general declining trend and is likely overfished and undergoing overfishing on the Atlantic coast of Florida. Other south Atlantic and Gulf states have also reported declines in flounder populations and have been making their own regulation changes.

Learn more about flounder regulations at MyFWC.com/Marine.
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Fernandina Beach Main Street Social Media and Online Sales Panel Discussion February 23

2/22/2021

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Fernandina Beach Main Street will hold a Social Media and Online Sales panel discussion on Tuesday, February 23rd, from 9 to 10:30AM. This event will have limited space for in-person attendance at Fernandina Beach City Hall.

Panelists will share their experiences and provide tips for business owners and managers to use in their marketing and sales operations.  The panel includes Nathalie Wu from Wicked Bao, Theresa Duncan from Villa Villekulla Toy Store, Lori Osborne from BizBolster Web Solutions, and Jenny Schaffer from Summer House Realty.  Each brings expertise and experience in different areas within the professional, retail, food service, and technical fields. Kristi Dosh, lawyer turned sportswriter, personal branding expert, and author, will lead the panel through a discussion on which social media channels you should use, how often and when you should schedule posts, using reels and live video, and what’s important in a website plus much more.  There will be time for Q&A as well.

This free event is open to all local businesses with limited in-person seating and an online option. In order to adhere to all government and health department guidance, masks will be required while indoors and social distancing will be in effect.

The panel discussion is free however, pre-registration is required. You can register at www.fernandinamainstreet.com. Please contact Lisa Finkelstein at info@fernandinamainstreet.com with questions.

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Fernandina Beach Main Street is part of the National Main Street Program that includes more than 1,200 communities – large and small, rural and urban – in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The goal of the main street program is strengthening communities through preservation-based economic vitality in older and historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts. It is a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
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Fernandina Beach Police Department Receives Law Enforcement Accreditation Again

2/19/2021

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Fernandina Beach Police Department
James Hurley, Chief
February 18, 2021


After a delay of nearly a year due to the global pandemic, members of the Fernandina Beach Police Department were rewarded by the Florida Commission for Law Enforcement Accreditation with our agency’s 5th Re-Accreditation Certificate. The latest assessment of our agency took place in December and the full commission met today via Zoom with Chief Jim Hurley, Deputy Chief Mark Foxworth, and Captain Jim Norman for a final presentation and vote, and our acceptance of our most recent certification, which will next expire in 2023. The police department was first accredited in 2005.

Being accredited means that in the delivery of police services, the members of the FBPD practice the elements of 195 standards which are considered as best practices for law enforcement agencies. These standards are set by the commission, which is comprised of police chiefs, sheriffs and criminal court judges as well as city and county managers from throughout Florida. Our own Sheriff Bill Leeper is currently serving on the commission.
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Barnabas Receives “Non-Profit Business of the Year Award” from Nassau County Chamber of Commerce

2/19/2021

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Barnabas Center Nassau
Submitted by Alexandra Winsor
Communications Manager
February 18, 2020

The Nassau County Chamber of Commerce awarded Barnabas Center the Nonprofit Business of the Year. Wanda Lanier, President and CEO of Barnabas accepted the award on behalf of Barnabas Center.

The purpose of the chamber awards is to highlight individuals and businesses who work hard to provide important services to the Nassau County community. Barnabas extends its appreciation to those who continue to support its mission to provide help and hope to the many people in need in our community, especially throughout the coronavirus crisis.

Maureen Paschke, Barnabas board member, nominated Barnabas Center for the Nonprofit of the Year Award. “Barnabas has been and continues to be a lifeline for vulnerable Nassau residents.” Said Paschke. “As people struggle to maintain their quality of life during this unanticipated and extraordinary national crisis, Barnabas is keeping them afloat as they navigate income loss, health concerns, food insecurity and economic strife.

Barnabas Center is Nassau County’s only comprehensive service organization that addresses critical issues of access to affordable health care, hunger and homeless prevention for individuals and families with incomes at 200 percent or below the Federal Poverty Level. Its programs collectively address the short- and long-term needs of individuals and families in crisis so they can become healthy, productive citizens, thereby strengthening the entire community.

For more information about Barnabas’ programs, please visit our website at www.BarnabasNassau.org.
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Pictured are “New to You” staff members and Barnabas staff members with Nassau County Chamber Award.
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Amelia Island Announces New “Island Perks” Incentive Cards

2/19/2021

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AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. (Feb. 17, 2021) – Northeast Florida’s Amelia Island has launched its new economic recovery program, “Island Perks”, which rewards visitors with a $100 Visa gift card when they book a special overnight package at one of 13 participating hotels, resorts, or bed & breakfast inns. During their stay, visitors can use the Island Perks $100 Visa gift cards almost anywhere in Nassau County, including all restaurants, attractions, shops and more. Available for a limited time only, the Island Perks accommodation packages include a wide array of extra amenities, such as complimentary valet parking, bike rentals, bar credits, complimentary bottle of wine, and deals on stays. The participating hotels, resorts and inns can be found online at ameliaisland.com/islandperks.

“With Island Perks, guests can enjoy all the island has to offer while dining at award-winning eateries and breweries or exploring activities by land, sea and sky,” said Gil Langley, President and CEO of the AICVB. “And we’re especially excited to have created a program that will help support our local small businesses while thanking our visitors for choosing Amelia Island.”

The cards will be valid for use exclusively at restaurants, shops, attractions and other businesses within Nassau County zip codes (excluding certain categories) through September 30. The list of participating Island Perks accommodations includes:
  • The Addison on Amelia Island
  • Home2 Suites by Hilton
  • Amelia Schoolhouse Inn
  • Hoyt House
  • Amelia Island Williams House
  • Omni Amelia Island Resort
  • Beachside Motel
  • Residence Inn Amelia Island
  • Blue Heron Inn
  • The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island
  • Hampton Inn & Suites, Amelia Island Historic Harbor Front
  • Seaside Amelia Inn
  • Hampton Inn, Amelia Island at Fernandina Beach
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Visit ameliaisland.com/islandperks for a complete listing of exclusive lodging packages with full details.
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Notice of Road Closure: Amelia Road at Simmons Road

2/18/2021

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2/17/21 @ 6:45 p.m. - Beginning Monday, February 22, 2021, a daily road closure on Amelia Road at Simmons Road will take place from 9am-4pm for approximately one week. AJ Johns, Inc., will be making repairs to the rear entrance at the Lakeside at Amelia Island Assisted Living Facility. The work will include shoulder grading and grassing, concrete sidewalk and valley gutter removal and replacement, and milling/asphalt overlay on Amelia Rd.

The attached map shows the detour around the road closure. AJ Johns will ensure 24/7 access to homeowners within the road closure while the detour is in place. Residents of Lakeside will be required to use the main entrance from Amelia Island Parkway.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Todd Patric, Sr. Project Manager with AJ Johns, Inc., at (904) 591-2798 or via email at tpatrick@ajjohns.com.

-Sabrina Robertson
 Public Information Officer
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