THOMASVILLE, Ga. (WTXL) — Candles, beer and film are three businesses that are expected to drive downtown Thomasville’s economy forward in 2023.
“It’s not just the personal excitement. It’s the community. It’s the town. It’s the area,” said Maurice Jackson. He is helping brew up something new for Thomasville.
“Come say hello, at Tvelo,” Jackson said. Tvelo is a new brewing company setting up shop in the Former Hubs & Hops storefronts. “I’m very surprised at how many people come up from Tallahassee and run right up Jackson Street to Broad,” Jackson added.
With new beers made right on site, he said he is hoping to give people a reason to stop and enjoy the businesses on this busy street. He’s no stranger to Florida either. “I’m from San Antonio, Texas. I made it to Florida State. I met a Florida girl,” Jackson added.
When they open, 16 taps will be flowing with beer made right here in Thomasville.
Around the corner, Jordan Kimmel manages, Blake Candle Company.
“We sell a little bit of everything,” Kimmel said.
The storefront opened in the fall of 2022.
“We’re right next door to Grassroots,” Kimmel explained. “We keep that door open. It’s just a constant flow in and out.” That flow of new customers checks out hand-poured candles made in Thomasville. The shop has not escaped the impacts of inflation.
“We have had to change some of our prices because of shipping costs and supply costs,” Kimmel explained. “Everything is just going up.”
Despite the challenges, the Rose City native said she is proud to join the small business community here.
To add to the new small businesses, Hollywood could be making a return to these streets in the new year.
“We have been told that Thomasville was selected to be the location,” said Bonnie Hayes. She is tourism director for Thomasville. While she couldn’t share any more details about possible film productions in 2023, the says movies have had a big impact here in recent memory.
“They very first film that we had, we know that we saw over $800,000 back into the community,” Hayes explained. That film was Tiger Rising shot back in 2019.
In recent years, more movies have contributed to the downtown economy including “Sam and Kate” starring Dustin Hoffman in 2022 and “One Way” starring Kevin Bacon. With more production, Hayes said production infrastructure could be in the works someday.
“We don’t have the sound studios,” Hayes explained. “We don’t have the post-production. We’d really like to work towards that.”
