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The
News Journal
Magazine
honors DeLand group, businesses
DeLand - Townspeople
here are justifiably proud of their quaint, picture perfect downtown,
and now they have even more to brag about.
For the second year in
a row, Florida Living Magazine has given MainStreet DeLand, a downtown
merchants association, a first- place award in its Best of Florida
issue. The city's various antique shops, its Fall Festival of the
Arts and two local businesses also received honors.
DeLand has been voted
Best Main Street, and award it also won in 1999, said Cindy Shanahan,
managing editor of the Lakeland-based magazine.
She said the award is
based on reader response. The magazine has a questionnaire card
that readers can fill out and return.
"They send in their
choices for the best of several categories," Shanahan said.
It's not easy to be voted
#1. That's because Florida Living has a circulation of more than
300,000 she said. The magazine is the largest publication in the
Sunshine State, she added.
"DeLand has been
in the top three for the past few years for its Main Street,"
Shanahan said.
"It's one of the
things we keep working at," said Taver B Cornett, executive
director of Main Street Deland Association. "Any time you get
an award like this, any kind of publicity does have some value."
Cornett said MainStreet's
was not the only award category in which DeLand placed. According
to Florida Living readers, the community placed third in the friendliest
town. Awarded second place for the Best Wine Store was Smoke N'Cellar
a Woodland Blvd hangout.
"That's pretty cool,"
said owner Matt Allgood when told of the award. "I never read
Florida Living, but we are definitely that kind of place."
Another DeLand business,
Boston Gourmet Coffee, was awarded the third-place for Best
Coffee Shop, Shanahan said. It was beaten only by the Starbucks
chain, which comes in second place for all their locations statewide;
and Maude's Classic Coffee in Gainsville, the readers' top choice,
she said.
An Employee at Boston
Gourmet said Joe Valente owns the business on New York Avenue.
His mother, Joanie Valente, manages it.
"It's my goal to
franchise it, but right now, we're just the one," said Joe
Valente. "This is a big surprise."
He said he has been in
business for almost five years.
The DeLand Fall Festival
of the Arts finished third in the Best Arts and Crafts Shows and
Festivals categories, Shanahan said. The DeLand community also was
voted an honorable mention for best antique shopping.
Shanahan said top winners
are given framed certificates, but the magazine does not notify
other winners. The awards may prompt tourists from throughout the
state to decide to visit DeLand.
While being named in
top category twice in a row is out of the ordinary, she said some
top winners have won first place all five years the awards have
been given. For example, Key West has been voted Best Sunset five
years in a row, Shanahan said.
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