Business owners from Northeast Florida and beyond gathered on Wednesday, December 11, to connect and collaborate at an Accelerate event hosted by What Now Media Group.
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The free event, held at Rodrigo’s Craft Pizza at 1029 Park Street, included more than 30 representatives from restaurants featured on What Now Jacksonville and more than 20 industry-leading experts from What Now Media Group’s network of Preferred Partners. Attendees mingled while enjoying bites and beverages before Mariah Medley, the Director of Events of What Now Media Group, introduced herself to the group.
Rodrigo’s Craft Pizza opened its doors about a year ago in Five Points under owner Alex Rodriguez. The new pizza concept moved into the former home of Crane Ramen, which closed after four years. Now that this restaurant has been open for about a year, the community has welcomed it with open arms. The gracious business was happy to host What Now Media Group for its recent accelerate event.
If you haven’t tried Rodrigo’s Craft Pizza, you are missing out on some delicious food options. The pizza restaurant offers fresh-from-scratch traditional Neopolitan-style pizzas made with seasonal ingredients, pasta dishes, salads, and more. What makes this pizza so impressive is the dough, which is made through a 72-hour fermentation process.
The restaurant recently hosted local entrepreneurs and business representatives from Jacksonville. They shared their business experiences, updated their progress, and reflected on the lessons of opening brick-and-mortar establishments in Jacksonville. Key takeaways from the discussion included the importance of having a passion for achieving success, the necessity of pivoting effectively—especially in response to emergencies- and the significance of building connections within the community.
Another topic discussed was sales tax automation. We know that taxes are a monthly obligation that consumes your valuable time and money, and mistakes can be costly. Our partners at DAVO by Avalara offer a powerful tool that automates every step of the sales tax process—from collecting to filing to paying. It integrates seamlessly with your POS system, so there’s nothing you need to do once you’re set up.
DAVO simplifies sales tax management with a one-time setup process. Once you complete this simple setup, DAVO handles everything for you. They collect and set aside sales tax daily, using data from your POS system, so you don’t have to worry about having enough cash at the end of the month. Additionally, DAVO automatically files your state sales tax on time, guaranteed. Did you know that some states even offer a discount for on-time filing? If you’re interested in learning how to eliminate the stress of sales tax, visit our partners at DAVO or contact them directly for more information.
This is the type of essential service that restaurant owners can learn about at Accelerate events, where they can connect with service providers and experts who can solve their problems or questions.
Throughout the event, business owners and restaurant franchisees shared their experiences regarding their business operations since opening. For franchise owners, the event featured a handful of individuals representing national franchises, such as Lokesh Patel, who owns several Buffalo Wild Wings Go / Dunkin Doughnuts in the area. Patel shared updates, including where they are with opening a new Buffalo Wild Wings Go location in Jacksonville at 13740 Beach Blvd.
Other franchise owners who attended included Nelson and Phoebe Soriano of Max’s Restaurant and Patrick Prendergast, the franchise owner of Potbelly Sandwich Shop. After signing a development agreement earlier this year, Prendergast provided updates to the group to bring seven restaurants to the Jacksonville area in the coming years.
Franchise owners weren’t the only entrepreneurs at this event. Several business owners helped drive the conversation to help others grow. This Jacksonville event saw an unusual amount of ice cream business owners in attendance, including Isaac and Elenis Camargo, who recently launched Screaming Cat Ice Cream and Coffee; Debra Alessi-Sromovski and Nick Soto, the owners of The Pink Parlor Ice Cream; Joel Foreacre and Tina Nguyen of Gator Ice Cream; and Brian and Kim Kraut, the two co-owners behind Conie’s Ice Cream.
Restaurant owners weren’t the only ones to share their knowledge with everyone. The free event featured a handful of industry-leading experts from What Now Media Group’s network of Preferred Partners. Austin Park was in attendance for Visual Installations, which offers a wide range of sign installation services to elevate your brand presence.
Another valuable preferred partner in attendance was Cedric Lauchner with ADT, who told the group about the importance of having a reliable alarm system for their businesses and how it would affect them not having it.
What Now Media Group shares restaurant opening news in 31 cities across the U.S., breaking news and providing timely insight into yet-to-open brick-and-mortar businesses. The platform shares news of thousands of openings across all 31 cities annually.
The industry-leading experts in What Now Media Group’s network of Preferred Partners help new businesses open and existing businesses grow.
Stay tuned for future Accelerate events from What Now Media Group in 2024. For more details, see the Accelerate page here.
