Business News - January 21

Happy Tuesday! The planning never stops here at DRI. We have so many exciting announcements coming up, so stay tuned.

Today’s Top Three:

• Happy 8th anniversary to 5 Points Music Sanctuary!

• Did you miss the Retail & Restaurant Meeting? Check out the PowerPoint linked below. Plus, complete our Restaurant Week poll below to let us know how the event is going.

• Submit your Valentine’s Day festivities to our website if you want to be included in our upcoming feature post.

Keep reading to stay informed!  

- Joya Garris, Community Engagement and Communications Manager

Stay Informed

The Sanctuary Celebrating 8 Years 🥳 

5 Points Music Sanctuary is celebrating its 8th anniversary! If you’ve never attended a show in the old church building, you should. 5PTS is so much more than a music venue. 5PTS celebrates, embraces, and explores sound.

Retail & Restaurant Meeting Notes 💻️ 

Thank you to everyone who attended last week’s meeting! Seeing the afternoon session so full was great. If you missed the Zoom, don’t worry! I have a copy of the PowerPoint for you to review.

Ambassador Updates 📝

Even in this frigid weather, our team is still providing hospitality assistance. While our hours have been slightly adjusted to cope with the cold, rest assured that we have heat! If you see an Ambassador in the blue tent, feel free to say hello or direct downtown visitors to our team for recommendations and directions.

Hospitality hours on Fridays and Saturdays are now 11:30am –7:30pm.

Want to see more from the team? Follow our official Downtown Ambassadors Facebook Page.

Get Involved

Heart Shaped Everything 💝 

Valentine’s Day is in a few short weeks. Don’t forget to submit your events and specials for V-Day (and Galentine’s) to our website. We will use these submissions to create a feature post on all the downtown happenings. Additionally, Izzy will pull information for her weekly newsletter straight from listings.

Sections will include:

• Gifts: Valentine’s Day sales and discounts

• Food specials

• Valentine’s themed events

• Galentine’s Day events

Click here to view a similar feature post we wrote for Halloween.

Restaurant Week Continues🍔 

Restaurant Week continues through this Sunday! We want to gather some preliminary data from restaurant managers who are participating in the event.

Best Practices:

• Inform your staff of Restaurant Week, prices, and specials

• Print physical copies of your Restaurant Week menu(s)

• Staff adequately for increased foot traffic

• Share your pricing and menus on social media to attract customers

• If you participate in the Downtown Gift Card Program, please ensure all staff know how to properly accept gift cards and inform them about possible speedbumps (with solutions)

Get Your Green On ☘️ 

Gain Knowledge & Network

Greater Workforce Development Relocation 📌 

This morning, Greater Roanoke Workforce Development cut the ribbon at its brand-new home in Downtown Roanoke's 707 Building! The organization provides strategic workforce programming and solutions to meet business demand in the Roanoke Valley and Allegheny Highlands. Reach out and see if the GRWDB offers any services you need.

Taxes, Privacy, and You: Industry Discussion 🔒

January 28, 2025 | 1pm – 2pm

Join AAF Roanoke at the Roanoke Higher Education Center for an insightful discussion on the future of the advertising and marketing industry. This talk is important to everyone connected to advertising and marketing, whether you work at an agency, in-house, as a freelancer, or at a media organization. Members and non-members are invited to attend.

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 January 20 - 26.

• Restaurant Week 1/17 - 1/26 at various businesses.

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.

Parking Information

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.

Fill out the form.

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!

Submit a job listing here.

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.

Submit an event here.

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!

Important Contacts