Business News - December 10

Parade Street Closures 🚧

Author

Joya Garris
December 10, 2024

Wow— the tree lighting on Friday was beautiful! We can’t wait to keep the holiday cheer going over the next 2 Fridays downtown.

Today’s Top Three:

  • Delta Dental Dickens of a Christmas continues this Friday, December 13th with the City of Roanoke Christmas Parade presented by Ridge View Bank.

  • Save the date(s) for Restaurant Week. Help us determine price points.

  • 40 social media content ideas to spruce up your profile.

Keep reading to stay informed!  

- Joya Garris, Community Engagement and Communications Manager

Stay Informed

Parade Time 🥁

The fun continues this Friday night at Delta Dental Dickens of a Christmas. Don’t miss the City of Roanoke Christmas Parade presented by Ridge View Bank. We will have marching bands, dance troupes, community groups, big floats, and much more. The parade officially begins at 6:30pm.

Read our Official Dickens Guide for full event details!

Parade night always has the most street closures. Please view the street closures for all three nights and pass the information along to your staff.

Our team was busy last month around downtown! Take a look at some of the numbers from November.

  • Outreach contacts: 181

  • Outreach referrals: 15

  • Hospitality assists, directions, and escorts: 366

  • Business contacts: 33

  • Sweep/small clean up: 464

  • Bags of litter removed: 227

  • Scooter relocations: 155

  • Biohazard cleanup: 90

  • Handbills, stickers, graffiti removed: 58

  • Small bulk trash removed: 43

Get Involved

Save the Date(s) for Restaurant Week 🍔 

Roanoke’s tastiest week returns January 17 - 26! Restaurant Week allows customers the chance to experience Downtown’s extensive mix of lunch and dinner options.

Restaurants, we want your opinions on pricing before setting firm price points. Please click the button below to complete our survey.

We Want Your Feedback 📝 

Help us decide whether to continue hosting Holiday Night Markets and Small Business Saturday. You can also provide recommendations to improve the events. This brief survey is 10 questions long and takes approximately 3 minutes to complete.

Boost Promotion of Events and Specials ⭐️ 

As the holidays approach, more events and specials are announced every day. Don’t miss your opportunity to promote your events. Below are a few of the calendars where you can submit events.

You can also submit sales, discounts, specials, and promotions on merchandise and food to our Specials page. We use this information when we create the weekly newsletter sent to 14,000+ subscribers!

Gain Knowledge & Network

Roanoke SBDC Training Courses

The Roanoke Small Business Development Center offers free training and resources. Check out their upcoming classes below.

  • December 17: How to Manage Your WordPress Website

  • December 18: SEO & Social Selling

  • December 19: Cybersecurity on a Budget

40 Social Media Ideas

Is your content feeling a bit stale? Check out Hootsuite's list of 40 social media content ideas to reignite your creativity! Your followers (and your boss) will thank you. Which idea will you test next? Personally, #19 “Create how-to videos or tutorials” is speaking to me.

Events, Street Closures, & Parking

Downtown Events and Street Closures 🚧

The following street closures and associated events may affect Downtown traffic and business for the week of December 9-15.

⭐️ Delta Dental Dickens of a Christmas continues this Friday, December 13th. Please review our upcoming street closures.

  • Jefferson Center Closures on Wednesday, 12/11 and Sunday, 12/15 on 6th Street SW between the loading dock and Campbell Ave

  • Bridging the Community Gap on Thursday, 12/12 at Martin Luther King Memorial Bridge

  • Straight Street Youth Night on Friday, 12/13 & Saturday, 12/14 from 4pm - 11pm

    Closure: Luck Ave between 3rd St and 4th St

Check out our Event Calendar for a full list of events.

Find Downtown Parking 🅿️

With more than 1,300 on-street spaces and 7,000+ off-street spaces, plenty of free or paid parking options exist.

DRI - Your Downtown Partner

Put DRI to work for you! 💼

Our mission is to make Downtown Roanoke the preferred place to Work, Live, and Play. As a Downtown business, you have a valuable FREE resource at your fingertips. Let us help share your story!

Website Listings on DowntownRoanoke.org - Our business listings often come up among the first in Google searches. Help us enhance your listing by providing us with vital information including website, phone number, description, hours, menus, and images.

Job Listings on DowntownRoanoke.org - Downtown Roanoke is the most vibrant workplace around and a destination for job seekers. Let us help get the word out when you’re hiring!

Event Listings on DowntownRoanoke.org - Our Event Calendar is THE place people go to find out what’s happening Downtown. Get your event in front of the audience you’re looking for.

Important Contacts 👤

Often businesses need phone numbers for government services, such as solid waste, permitting, etc., and other services, such as private parking and transportation.

Check out our list of frequently requested information!