Category: News

BOAT SHOW BUMPS UP BUSINESSES DOWNTOWN

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (April 16, 2021) – Restaurants in Downtown West Palm Beach saw a significant increase in revenue during the 2021 Palm Beach International Boat Show compared to the same period in 2019. The return of the popular March event, after its 2020 hiatus, drew crowds to the Downtown District. 

“We did an anecdotal survey of Downtown’s restaurants and concluded that the Boat Show definitely increased sales this year – some over 20% as compared to the very healthy 2019 numbers,” said Raphael Clemente, Executive Director of the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority (DDA). “All of the owners we talked to said they saw this increase as very encouraging and hope the momentum holds, as restaurants were among the worst affected due to the pandemic.”   

While the largest increases in sales were reflected in Clematis St. restaurants, eateries on other streets also saw increases. A point of interest is that the surge in sales extended way beyond the Boat Show event area up into the 500 block, where Kapow Noodle Bar saw a 30 percent increase in sales. Kapow is an Asian-fusion restaurant that opened in 2017 that serves small plates, cocktails and ramen.  

Pistache French Bistro at 101 N. Clematis St. and Rocco’s Tacos and Tequila Bar at 224 Clematis St. gave their sales numbers to the DDA, reporting a five percent increase for Pistache and 20 percent increase for Rocco’s over 2019.   

“These increases show that our large events are very significant economic drivers, and indicate that activity in Downtown is definitely improving,” said Teneka James-Feaman, Associate Executive Director for the DDA. 

For more information on the West Palm Beach DDA or Downtown West Palm Beach, please visit DowntownWPB.com.  

About the Downtown Development Authority 

The West Palm Beach DDA is an independent taxing district created in 1967 by a special act of the Florida Legislature. Its mission is to promote and enhance a safe, vibrant Downtown for our residents, businesses and visitors through the strategic development of economic, social and cultural opportunities. 

For more information about the DDA or Downtown West Palm Beach, please visit DowntownWPB.com or call the DDA at (561) 833-8873. 

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DREYFOOS STUDENTS TO PAINT “LOVE COMES NATURALLY MURAL” IN DOWNTOWNWPB

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (March 12, 2021) – The West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and the West Palm Beach Arts & Entertainment District are partnering with a team of students from Dreyfoos School of the Art to bring a new mural to the corner of Clematis St. and Olive Ave. Work on the mural, entitled “Love Comes Naturally” is set to begin on March 13 while students are on spring break. Completion of the project will happen before May depending on the weather. The DDA chose the students’ design through a Request for Proposal (RFP) issued in September 2020. The RFP provided clear guidelines for the artistic theme in which the selection committee identified the winning designs.  

“When I heard about the DDA’s RFP, I knew I had to present the opportunity to my visual arts students,” said Erica Prince, a visual arts teacher at Dreyfoos School of the Arts.  

“We talked through our options for the collaborative approach and decided to work on a design concept reflecting three different forms of love: familial, romantic and platonic,” said Gyongy Szaszvarosi, one of the mural artists and an 11th grade Visual Arts student at Dreyfoos School of the Arts. “Our design includes diverse figures, which represents the idea that love can be expressed in many ways, between all people.”   

The team of three artists is led by visual arts student Jaclyn Cohen, who uses watercolor, pastels, gold leaf, real pressed flowers and tree bark to express the ideas of connection of self-love. Cohen, who has experience organizing murals through the school’s mural society, will lead the team of three students selected to paint the mural onto the Olive Ave. wall. The other collaborating artist is Kyra Kramer. 

Renderings of all designs can be found here. For more information about the DDA and its mission to bring the vitality and inspiration of the arts to residents and visitors of Downtown West Palm Beach, and more information about the A&E District, please visit DowntownWPB.com

About the Downtown Development Authority 
The West Palm Beach DDA is an independent taxing district created in 1967 by a special act of the Florida Legislature. Its mission is to promote and enhance a safe, vibrant Downtown for our residents, businesses and visitors through the strategic development of economic, social and cultural opportunities.  For more information about the DDA or Downtown West Palm Beach, please visit DowntownWPB.com or call the DDA at (561) 833-8873.  

About Arts & Entertainment District 
The West Palm Beach A&E District is a centralized collection of inspiring arts and entertainment venues; art and history museums; galleries; libraries; performing arts companies; and art education institutions. Situated in the heart of South Florida’s most progressive city, the District includes more than 20 distinct and distinguished cultural destinations that form a defining industry cluster. The A&E District enhances the appeal of West Palm Beach as a visitor destination, drawing attention to its status as a vibrant city illuminated by its beauty and range of creative expression. For more information about the A&E District, please visit DowntownWPBArts.com. 

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