JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A holiday market on Friday welcomed people to explore the “District of Soul” on Jacksonville’s Northside.
It’s also a celebration because the businesses along the Myrtle-Moncrief Commercial Corridor are now eligible to apply for grant money to revamp their buildings and to hopefully draw even more people out in the long run.
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First, Wells Fargo donated $300,000. Then, the City of Jacksonville donated an additional $750,000.
“It’s time to reclaim our community!” said Paul Tutwiler, CEO of the Northwest Jacksonville Community Development Corporation.
The money is part of a grant fund which businesses can apply for to help them with improvements.
The three organizations that will share the grant are the Northwest Jacksonville Community Development Corporation (NJCDC), the Greater First Coast Chamber and the Black Business Investment Fund.
Read: $5.85 million awarded to Groundwork Jacksonville for Hogan’s Creek design
To celebrate and kick off the Christmas shopping season, the Moncrief-Myrtle Avenue corridor closed to traffic and hosted a holiday market on Friday, spotlighting some of the businesses in the community which these grants will help.
“The grant money means so much to me as far as my family because we are a third and fourth generation legacy,” said Wendy Holley of Holley’s BBQ, who is among those who applied.
“We have the oldest Black [BBQ] restaurant in the city,” Holley said. “We are the home of the original curly fries. Hamburgers, cheese burgers, chicken tenders, we have it all!”
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She wants to further the legacy her uncle established back when their doors first opened in 1937.
“I’ve been doing little things myself but the money that they’re allowing us to have allows me to have new signs, new awning, signage on the outside, driveway,” she pointed out. “It’s just helping me out a great deal.”
“She has some great BBQ and she’s doing some good business,” neighbor Tracey Howard said, while also saying she’s looking forward to seeing more people exploring the area.
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“I think that’s amazing,” she said of the grant money. “Help rebuild the buildings and have people want to shop there.”
Plus, Howard and Holley said it’s an opportunity to share all the different flavors that make up the District of Soul.
“The District of Soul, we’re trying to incorporate more people to come back to our neighborhood for them to see what we have to offer,” Holley said. “Even though we’re not an upscale restaurant, we still have upscale food!”
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