"The weather is getting us excited for the event season!This year we’ll have two of our mobile coffee shops hitting the road and available for booking.Visit our site or send us an email dogliocoffee@gmail.com for a quote and custom ideas for how we can create your ideal event experience."
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| Doglio Coffee ready to move around for your event |
SAVE THE DATE!Friday 2/17 ~ Smash Burger Pop Up!!We have teamed up with Chef Shawn @o_heide owner of @thekitchenatwhitebarn to offer a night of smash burgers, fries, burgers, crazy big shakes, fun cocktails, and beers.Starts at 5 PM and ends when we run out!Can’t wait to see you all there.
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| Birchwood Bakery: Smash Burger Pop Up Feb 17 - SAVE THE DATE! |
As published in Franklin Local Pages By J.D. O’Gara
Lisa Piana, Director of the Franklin Downtown Partnership, says she is “thrilled” at what she is calling a “business boon” in the heart of Franklin. In fact, six new businesses call downtown Franklin home, and with a new Ladybug Cultural and Historical Trail, and new alleyway murals, there is a lot to discover in downtown Franklin!
Established to foster greater vitality in the downtown commercial district, the Franklin Downtown Partnership (FDP) has been planning for this moment of tremendous growth in the downtown for the 20 years it has been in existence, says Piana. “Over these many years, the FDP has been diligently putting in the infrastructure, working with town officials, improving the streetscape, meeting with builders, and hosting downtown events,” she writes.
Lily Riviera, Marketing and Communications Specialist for the Town of Franklin, also attributes the growth to a few initiatives the town of Franklin took to make the community welcoming to business. Some of the new businesses, in fact were part of the Pop-Up Shop grant initiative.
“I think it was a good way for people to get integrated into the community,” says Rivera.
Rivera notes that her predecessor, in fact, created a business guide to help opening businesses in Franklin get to know not only the community, but the various steps they must take to establish their business of preference in the town.
“Obviously, opening a business, there are a lot of different steps,” says Rivera. “Anne Marie (Tracy) broke down zoning and more, in a simplified way, guiding them through a very layered process. That’s something that’s been a resource.”
Rivera also points out that, following a market study the town did with the MAPC, Franklin conducted Business Listening Sessions during the pandemic, to determine how best to help local business thrive. That helped steer the Pop-Up Shop grant initiative, and now the town is working on a Franklin for All study with the MAPC, to more clearly establish a vision for the downtown center and adjust zoning toward this effort. This work helps in the long run, she says. The public is invited to take part in a forum to be conducted in Town Council chambers at 7 p.m. on March 7th.
“These are good tools for businesses to use,” says Rivera. “As a business owner, you need to look at ... how unique your business proposal is in the town you’re going to operate in. If you’re a coffee shop in a town with a lot of coffee shops, it’s going to be harder for you.”
The new businesses located in the Franklin downtown area include:
• Birchwood Bakery and Kitchen, 17 E. Central St., Franklin, offers breads, salads, baked goods, sandwiches, yogurt parfaits and more.
• Briller Boutique, 70 E. Central St., Franklin, will be opening soon and will sell women’s clothing and accessories.
• Escape Into Fiction, 12 Main St., Franklin, sells a variety of fictional books.
• Greco Design Co., 2A Main St., Franklin, offers unique home decor items and handmade gifts.
• I Have Coins and Collectibles, 15 Main St., Franklin, carries coins, Pokémon cards, comic books, Star Wars and other collectibles, as well as offers free appraisals.
• Zuzu’s Petals & Cafe, 19 Dean Ave., Franklin, is a full-service florist and offers a variety of gift items.
“We really encourage residents to stroll the downtown and appreciate all it has to offer,” said Lisa Piana, executive director of the FDP. “Small businesses add so much to our community. We encourage residents to support Franklin businesses and shop local whenever possible.”
Escape Into Fiction originally occupied a storefront on the edge of the downtown through the town’s pop-up shop grant initiative last year. “The first time I drove down Main Street and saw the unoccupied storefront at 12 Main Street, I knew that I needed to have it,” April Rock, owner of Escape into Fiction. “We really wanted to be in the downtown so we can be part of the entire community, not just on the outskirts.”
Rock worked with town officials, business owners and the FDP to secure her new space. “The networking with the FDP helped us continue to stir interest and get people excited about establishing a bookstore in downtown Franklin.”
Roberta Trahan, vice president of the FDP and lifelong Franklin resident is delighted to see the growth in downtown Franklin.
“The FDP Mission has always been to develop and support an attractive and vibrant downtown,” Trahan said. “The addition of these new businesses, coupled with the support of the many businesses that have been downtown for some time, will continue to work towards this goal. We are so excited for this continued growth!”
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| Franklin Local Pages: "Franklin Downtown Has a Business Growth Spurt" |
FM #722 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 722 in the series.
This session of the radio show shares my "Talk Franklin" conversation with Town Administrator Jamie Hellen. We had our conversation via the Zoom Conference Bridge.
Our conversation covered current events
Town Council goals => Town goals, Town Administrator review base
Franklin For All -> EDC plus, MAPC planning, Forum Mar 7
Pop shop success stories
The recording runs about 22 minutes, so let’s listen to my conversation with Jamie. Audio file -> https://anchor.fm/letstalkfranklin/episodes/Town-Council-Goals--Franklin-For-All-and-Pop-Shop-Program-Success-e1e3tr8/a-a7cagii
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Finance Committee agenda -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/01/finance-committee-gets-lesson-on.html
Franklin For All web page -> https://www.mapc.org/resource-library/franklin-for-all/
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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.
This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.
How can you help?
If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don't like something here, please let me know
Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.
I hope you enjoy!
------------------
You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
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| This Talk Franklin episode discusses the Town Council goals, Franklin For All, and pop up shop successes |
"2021 - What a wild ride!
From thousands of bottles of cold brew and cups of coffee to countless homes that start their day with Doglio, you’ve blown our minds the past 10 months and empowered us to do bigger and better things in 2022.Our Doglio tribe has expanded tenfold with the pop-up opportunity granted to us by @townoffranklinma. The Franklin community showed up and welcomed us in a way we couldn’t have imagined. Although we won’t be taking the brick and mortar step next we are working on some pretty awesome things that will give everyone more ways to enjoy Doglio.And remember, you can always order Doglio for local delivery or ship some to a friend.Now, time for us to get brewing!"
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| Doglio Coffee |
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| Doglio Coffee gets to brewing in 2022 (courtesy photo) |
"We are STAYING! My aunt @grecodesignshop & I are so thankful to everyone who has supported our pop up location these past 6 months 🤍 we’ve decided to stay for another year!!
Not quite a year of bleutral, but crazy to look back at launching this little store online🤍 It’s been a ton of work, but I absolutely love everything about it! So thank you for following, shopping, sharing, & supporting our very small business ✨
We will be open tomorrow & Thursday then will be closed for a few weeks in January to give the space a little face lift! Reopening date- to be announced 🤍 Cheers to another year"
Shared from Facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/shopbleutal/posts/284414583707743
bluetral => https://bleutral.com/
Greco Design => https://www.grecodesigncompany.com/
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| Greco Design / bluetral pop up shop to stick around! Yay! |
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| Get your Franklin sports apparel at the FYSA Pop Up Shop - Dec 18 |
"Come shop our Holiday Pop up Market and help support local artists. From stocking suffers to delicious local foods for your holiday gatherings, we'll have something for everyone's tastes. Local artists will be selling their wares, we'll be hosting food tastings, and Franklin's Girl Scouts will be outside selling cookies.
We are New England's only premier 100% locally sourced New England healthy food grocery market and every purchase will help local businesses. "
Follow the event on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/437409904668301
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| Holiday Pop up Market at Fresh Start Market - Dec 18 |
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FM #650 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 650 in the series.
This session of the radio show shares my "Talk Franklin" conversation with Town Administrator Jamie Hellen and Marketing Communication Specialist Lily Rivera. We had our conversation in person to help celebrate the new popup shops opening in Downtown Franklin.
We talk about:
Popup Shops
Escape into Fiction
Doglio Coffee
Nov 3 – Town Council
Swearing in of Town Clerk
Swearing in of Town Council
Town Council re-organized (election of officers)
Open Meeting Law review
Work on civil discussion around the issues
Collaborating with Superintendent Sara Ahern
Links to the key popup shops are included in the show notes. The recording runs about 23 minutes, so let’s listen to my conversation with Jamie and Lily.
Audio file = https://player.captivate.fm/episode/11dc9f6b-5c21-4047-b41c-082f3c56d9ad
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Doglio Coffee will open on Nov 10. In the meantime, you can check out their webpage and order online https://dogliocoffee.com/
Escape into Fiction will be open everyday except for Monday. Peruse the books on the shelf, if you don't find one you want, they can order it for you. https://escapeintofiction.com/
And don't forget that Greco Designs is operating as well in their location downtown https://www.grecodesigncompany.com/
Town Council Agenda (98 page PDF agenda and docs released for this meeting) https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/town_council_agenda_11.03.21.pdf
--------------
We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.
This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.
How can you help?
If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don't like something here, please let me know
Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.
I hope you enjoy!
------------------
You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
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| Talk Franklin: popup shops, Town Council agenda, and civil discourse on tough topics |
