April 2024

Director's Message

Amanda Everitt

Happy April!  

This month, the total solar eclipse will be visible from our beautiful state on Monday, April 8^th. Many schools have adapted their schedules to allow families to experience this once in a lifetime event. Be aware that downtown may see an uptick in traffic that day! We have also moved our quarterly SID Board meeting to accommodate eclipse watchers; the SID board meeting will occur on Tuesday, April 9^th at 3pm in the Chamber's Conference Room located at 109 N Broad Street and is open to ALL SID PROPERTY OWNERS. 

On April 11th we host our quarterly downtown business meeting. This meeting is a space to come together with other downtown business and property owners to learn about upcoming opportunities, and network with other downtown member businesses.  New for 2024: we will host two meetings to accommodate the varying schedules of our membership. Choose to join us at 9am at Provisions Bakery and Deli, or at 4:30pm at Double Edge Brewing. All businesses are welcome, and we hope to see everyone there to network and receive important updates and share feedback.  

This month, Downtown Cleanup day is on Saturday, April 20th and we will manage over 250 volunteers who will work to make downtown sparkle! Be prepared for heavy foot traffic that day and let us know if you have ideas or questions about the beautification efforts. Brad Hutchinson is once again generously donating lunch coupons for up to $10 for volunteers that day – if you serve lunch be on the lookout for a separate email from me with details on how you can participate. 

This month we welcome three new businesses to Downtown Lancaster! El Parian, Steak and Tequila is hoping to be open within the next two weeks at 123 N Broad Street. At 158 W Wheeling Street, we are thrilled to welcome Robin’s Nest Home Décor Market to our retail district! Finally, at 125 W Wheeling Street, Culture Creative opens with a ribbon cutting scheduled for April 24^th at 4:30pm. 

Are you planning any renovations? Thinking of some fresh paint? Please reach out so that I can assist you with the proper permits. Most of downtown is located in the historic district and some changes and repairs require a certificate of appropriateness from the Historic Lancaster Commission. Don't let that deter you! The process is simple and I can help.

As always, feel free to contact me with any news, questions, or concerns! 

Downtown Business Meeting

Next Downtown Business Meetings

April 11th | 9am | Provisions Bakery and Deli

April 11th | 4:30pm | Double Edge

Thanks to your feedback, we are offering two different opportunities for you to participate in the Downtown Business Meetings, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Join us at 9am at Provisions Bakery and Deli or 4:30pm at Double Edge.

We hope you or someone from your business can join us on Thursday, April 11, 2024 at 9am or 4:30pm for one of our Downtown Business Meetings.

The Downtown Business Meeting is a way for DDL to bring all the businesses of the district together. The purpose of the meeting is to provide a space for you to stay connected and up-to-date on things happening downtown. We use this time to share important information and resources to all member businesses in the district. 

You should have received a calendar invitation for these quarterly meetings. If you did not receive this please email Alex at alex@destinationdowntownlancaster.com

Downtown SID Meeting

SID Board Meeting

April 9th | 3pm | 109 N Broad St, Suite 100

The Downtown Lancaster Special Improvement District Board meets quarterly, the second Monday of the month in the Chamber conference room at 4pm. These board meetings are open to all SID property owners. Please be advised that rather than the second Monday in April, due to scheduling conflicts, the next SID Board meeting will meet at 3pm on Tuesday, April 9th, 2024. Email Amanda at amanda@destinationdowntownlancaster.com with any questions or concerns.

Chocolate Walk — April 5th

Thank you to all the businesses participating in Chocolate Walk on Friday, April 5th! Volunteers will be visiting your business on April 3rd and 4th to drop off Chocolate Walk materials (Pink balloons and event checklist). Please be sure to keep these materials in a secure place for the event! 

Attached is the Chocolate Walk Event Checklist. Please use this checklist as a guide for your event participation preparation. Chocolate Walk attendees will receive a map with each participating location. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to call or text Alex at 740-304-3615!

Downtown Clean Up Day — April 20th

Downtown Cleanup is coming up on Saturday, April 20th. We are expecting over 200 volunteers who will work to make downtown sparkle! Be prepared for heavy foot traffic that day.

Saturday Cinema

If your business would like to be part of Saturday Cinema this season, you can sign up to provide a free pre-movie activity. Click below to view the sign-up form for more information!

Lancaster City Schools Employee

End of Year Celebration

Lancaster City Schools is kicking off the Summer by hosting their employee celebration in Downtown Lancaster on Tuesday, May 28th at 3 pm. If you want to show your appreciation, sign up below and let us know if you would like to offer a discount or promotion for LCS employees! We will create a flyer for them to have at the event and promote your happening. We are expecting 200 LCS employees downtown for this event.

Keller Market's Ribbon Cutting and Open House

Come celebrate with Keller Market House (134 South Columbus Street)! For over a year now, they have been working on renovations to their historic building so that they can expand their grocery operations.

They're excited to settle into their new spaces and show it off to you! The rear of our building has been transformed into new work spaces for their vendors and staff, with a dedicated delivery entrance from Chestnut Street. They're adding three new freezers and three new refrigerators for expanded capacity. You will also notice new shelving as they reorganize the retail area and set the stage to offer even more local foods.

They will celebrate this milestone on Thursday, April 11th from 11am-1pm with an Open House. Join them for a ribbon cutting with the Lancaster Fairfield County Chamber of Commerce at noon. During the Open House, you will be able do the following:

• Tour the new space
• Meet our vendors
• Sample local foods
• Grab lunch from Chuck's Wagon food truck

They will also have a smaller, more private event later in the day that you are invited to from 4pm-6pm. Take a tour of the building and check out the improvements. They will have cookies & milk happy hour, and Smith Brothers Creamery will share about their family dairy.

Downtown Business Leaders, please swing by to see the updates and celebrate with us!

Wands & Wizards Weekend Meeting - April 9th

Wands & Wizards Weekend in Lancaster and beyond will be held the second weekend of August 2023.

The next meeting will be Tuesday, April 9th, 2024 at 9:00 AM at the Fairfield County District Library, Main Branch 

Anyone interested in participating in this wildly popular event is encouraged to attend.

Share Your Shop Hop Experience!

Thank you to all the businesses who participated in this year's Shop Hop! We hope your shops were filled with shoppers all weekend, and that you had a wonderful experience. Your feedback is valuable to us and the future of our events. Please complete the survey found at the link to help us evaluate this year's event and plan for next year!

Save The Date!

If your business is interested in participating or need ideas on how to participate in the Bottoms Up event please contact Dave Annecy at gayfadstudios@gmail.com

Small Business Development Center Trainings

Follow SBDC on Facebook by clicking HERE!

Click the link below to explore the SBDC training events that are provided at no-cost to assist you and your business, and to register for any of the trainings listed above.