Eyler believes the perfect toy isn’t something that just keeps the child busy. It helps children develop creatively and intellectually.

“The toys we carry help enrich a child’s life. That might involve more parental involvement, but we think that’s a good thing,” said Eyler.

“Our items focus on developing free-thinking and imaginative play,” she said.

The staff, including co-owner Elizabeth Holop, takes a hands-on approach to customer service, often playing games with the children and providing gift wrapping services.

Toy Nation features toys like Lammily, a doll which empowers children of all shapes and sizes to develop self-esteem, have a positive body image and to be accepting of others. According to the toy designer, Lammily is the first doll to use realistic body shape and proportions in its design.

The store also carries Lux blocks, American-made building blocks which let children build structures that curve, bend, and move.

For the older child, Toy Nation sells paint ball equipment and Eyler’s husband, Mark, owns Tallahassee Paint Ball Sports.

“Toys have a big influence on kids and their development,” said Eyler. “Quality toys inspire active and thinking play.”

Toy Nation is in The Festival Shopping Plaza at 2746 Capital Circle NE, right of El Jalisco. Hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

You see, their locally owned business, Power On, was born 11 years ago during the hurricane season of 2004. After witnessing the devastating impact four major hurricanes had on the state of Florida, John saw a need for generators that would provide comfort, security and safety to families and businesses during times of power outages.

This led to him and his wife starting Power On, which sells and services stand-by generator systems for commercial and residential customers.

But a hurricane is not the only event that can result in devastating power outages. The recent storms that came through the Big Bend demonstrate the need for the services provided by Power On.

On April 20^th at 2:00 pm over 11,000 people were without power and four hours later the number was still over 8,000.

The husband and wife team has successfully leveraged their skills to operate Power On with a focus on customer service and a dedication to selling equipment that fits the needs of the customer.

John has a mechanical background as well as retail experience and Vicki, who serves as the Operations Manager, brings administrative and organizational skills gained from 33 years as a State of Florida employee.

John is the face you will see in the field.  Not only is he the owner and sole proprietor of the business he also services, repairs and installs the generators.

Vicki handles all the office responsibilities such as billing, scheduling and maintaining the customer database; as well as managing the Power On website and Facebook page.

Over the last 11 years, despite the economic downturn, some changes in the economy have benefited their business.

For example, the move to provide more in-home healthcare has resulted in more people needing uninterrupted power for medical devices such as oxygen or CPAP machines which aid individuals that have a form of sleep apnea.

Also, more people have created home businesses and larger corporations are allowing employees to work at home. These arrangements are not productive when the power is out.

This increase in potential customers has highlighted another unique feature of Power On.

Some businesses just sell generators and do not provide maintenance.This can often-times leave buyers in a bind.

John says, “sometimes buyers rely on out of town vendors but fail to recognize the importance of preventive maintenance.”

Power On sells and maintains generators. In fact this is all they do.

“Vicki and I believe we can best serve our customers by focusing on stand-by generators and their maintenance and not trying to sell a lot of other services,” said John.

Another attractive feature for a lot of potential Power On customers is the ability to connect a stand-by generator to the natural gas source provided by the City of Tallahassee.

Power On has experience implementing this type of configuration.

The laser like focus of Power On, combined with local ownership provides a unique experience for their customers that comes with a local phone number.

This local phone number is important because they are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the event of emergencies.

Power On provides an information filled website at PowerOnUSA.com. The site is easily navigated and the “Getting Started” section starts with assessing a customers needs, addresses equipment options, answers installation questions, such as what permits and licenses are needed, and ends with preventive maintenance options.

Sahara, which is a Greek Lebanese Cafe located at 1241 E. Layfayette Street, was a buzz with activity during our lunch visit.

The wait staff was pleasant and you could tell their banter with patrons means that repeat customers frequent the cafe.

The seasoned chicken with rice pilaf and a greek salad was delicious. But more satisfying was the feeling that employees sincerely appreciated our visit.

Sahara uses “the most craved, freshest and ripe vegetables in the business when preparing your food and the meats are the greatest of cuts.”

Their website brags that “our customers come back and new customers continue to walk in everyday because our food is the best in the city.”

Sometimes we take local institutions for granted.

The Uptown Cafe, located at 1325 Miccosukee Rd, has been locally owned and operated and serving Tallahassee residents and visitors for 30 years.

Opened on College Ave downtown in 1983 and now located at the corner of Miccosukee and Magnolia (across from Tallahassee Memorial Hospital), Uptown serves great homemade breakfast and lunch items.

The Turkey Melt we had was tasty and the weather allowed us to dine outside The atmosphere in the “hospital district” gave the feel of a an “uptown” diner in a big city.

Also, it appeared everyone eating there knew each other – a sign of repeat customers.

Uptown also provides catering and Apricot Smoked Salmon. They began offering the special smoked salmon in 2008 at holiday events and the demand for it grew quickly from there. It started with one small smoker, smoking 15 pieces at a time to the present big daddy smoker that smokes 60 at a time.

Two great locally owned restaurants – give them a try!

A review of state records indicates that Red Hills Broadcasting is owned by Bradford Lewis and Henry Kestenbaum. Kestenbaum is the former general manager of Opus Broadcasting in Tallahassee and is the President and COO of Red Hills Broadcasting.

“While most radio stations are owned by large media groups limiting their ability to make local decisions,” said Kestenbaum, “Red Hills Broadcasting is committed to meeting the specific programming and advertising needs of our listeners and customers in North Florida.”

The other owner, Mr. Lewis, is affiliated with the partnership group that are the original owners/developers of Super-Lube and Red Elephant Restaurants.

Kestenbaum and Lewis have purchased WANK 99.9 FM, WHTF 104.9 FM, WWOF 103.1 FM and WQTL 106.1 FM from Opus Media Partners of New York City. Opus has been a regional radio broadcasting company with station clusters in Louisiana and Florida.

All four stations have consistently been among the Tallahassee’s top rated stations. WWOF, known as 103.1 The Wolf, is currently Tallahassee Metro Area’s top rated country station.

Kestenbaum notes that, “With four distinctly different stations, Contemporary Hits on 104.9, Fresh Country on 103.1 the Wolf, Adult Hits on 99.9 Hank FM and Vintage Album Tracks on 106.1 The Path, we can deliver the programming our listeners want and target the customers that our advertisers need and/or give them diversity. Tallahassee is going to see some real innovation and exciting on-air and marketing strategies for our advertisers over the next few months. It’s going to be fun.”

Kestenbaum, a 38-year radio broadcasting veteran was an investor in Opus and General Manager of its Tallahassee area stations for the past eight years. He has managed radio stations in Tallahassee since 1998. According to Kestenbaum, “Radio stations thrive on local content designed to entertain and inform the folks who live, work and go to school within their coverage areas. The best stations are the ones that reflect the uniqueness of their communities. In short, good radio has to be local. What works in New York City or Miami or even Jacksonville doesn’t necessarily work here.”

Kestenbaum added, “Red Hills Broadcasting’s mission is to deliver unique and creative local radio content in Tallahassee that’s entertaining, informative and fun. The company’s other mission is to offer exceptional advertising value to businesses throughout the region, with knowledge that the dollars spent on advertising in Tallahassee stay in Tallahassee and circulate.”

Prime Meridian Bank, a subsidiary of the holding company, has two locations in Tallahassee. The original operation opened at 1471 Timberlane Road and the bank has recently opened a second location at 1897 Capital Circle Northeast.

The Company is offering up to 1,200,000 shares of common stock at a price of $12.50 per share. Investors may purchase from 500 shares up to a maximum of 80,000 shares. According to the Company’s Prospectus, there is no minimum number of shares that must be sold in this Offering and the proceeds will immediately be available to the Company.

The Offering commenced on December 11, 2013, and continues on an ongoing basis until February 28, 2014, unless terminated earlier or extended by the Company’s Board of Directors to a date no later than June 30, 2014.

The terms of the Offering, as well as information about the Company’s financial results and condition, are contained within the Prospectus that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as part of its Registration Statement. Prime Meridian Bank (a subsidiary of the Company), has been successful in navigating its way through the recent unprecedented and prolonged recession and continues to flourish.

“The Bank has generated steady growth through consistent positive earnings; the commitment and quality of our team and directors have contributed to our accomplishments,” said President and CEO Sammie D. Dixon, Jr. “We truly have established a new attitude in banking and built a culture for promoting achievement within our Bank – a culture that is the bedrock of our future progress and expansions.”

The investor presentation document outlines the use of proceeds from the stock offering. In the event the Bank raises $5.0 million or less, the net proceeds of the offering will be used for general corporate purposes, which may include maintaining liquidity for the Company and continuing to support the growth of the Bank while maintaining strong capital levels.

Should the Bank raise between $5.0 million and $10.0 million, the net proceeds of the offering will be used for general corporate purposes, while also considering branch acquisition opportunities in North Florida, South Georgia, or South Alabama.

In the event the Bank raises more than $10.0 million, the net proceeds of the offering will be used for all of the aforementioned purposes above, while also considering the acquisition of another financial institution within the next 18 months.

As of June 30, 2013, Prime Meridian Bank ranked 10th in the Tallahassee MSA, with 3.2% market share and $162 million in total deposits.

The area located just north of I-10 off of Thomasville Road is home to a growing number of businesses and many of these business are locally owned.

Businesses like Tally’s Grill, Old Town Cafe, Shaws, The Honeytree, The Tasty Pastry and Nic’s Toggery, have called the area home for years.

Where else in Tallahassee can you find wine, fresh pastries, a custom made suit, pizza, a car wash, sushi, and homemade candy all within a ten minute walk.

And while there have been casualties due to the recent economic down turn, a drive through the area reveals new businesses popping up rather quickly.

One of those new businesses is The Humidor, a new cigar shop located in the The Gallery at Market Street.

A humidor is a room with constant humidity that is used to store cigars, cigarettes, or pipe tobacco.

While most cigar shops have a walk-in humidor, The Humidor at The Gallery is unique in that it has a humidifying system in place for the whole shop.

Marc Luna, a manager at the Humidor, says that “unlike cigar stores with a small humidor, The Humidor can keep the air circulating for a more enjoyable smoking experience.”

The price of the vast majority of cigars at the The Humidor range between $2 and $10. There are a few selections over $20.

The Humidor also provides seating and a large screen television for those who would like to relax while smoking a cigar of their choice.

The Humidor is located at 1429 Market Street.

In 2001, the husband and wife team of Coosh and Margaret Willis fulfilled a dream of bringing authentic Louisiana food to Tallahassee by opening Coosh’s Bayou Rouge in Northeast Tallahassee.

Their first location was in the old Winn Dixie shopping center off of Kerry Forest Parkway. The restaurant was tucked away in the corner of the shopping center and was home for almost 9 years.

But Coosh knew to be successful he had to get to a location that was more visible and offered access to more customers.

So Coosh and Margaret do what entrepreneurs do, they took a risk and made a move to a new location. “It was risky, but had to be done if we were going to grow the business,” said Coosh.

The move put them in a new development called Persimon Hill on Thomasville Road just North of Walmart. Over 50,000 cars pass by the location each day.

The new restaurant is twice as big than the old location at 4000 square feet and seats 150 patrons.

With the move complete, they can now focus on doing what they love to do, providing authentic Cajun food. And both Coosh and Margaret know Cajun.

Coosh was born in south Louisiana and grew up in Gonzales, the Jambalaya Capital of the Word and Margaret was born in Baton Rouge. Together they have put together a menu that provides a full range of exciting options.

Some of the Cajun staples on the menu include seafood gumbo, which brings together the holy trinity of cajun cuisine (bell peppers, onion, and celery), jambalaya, red beans and rice, crawfish etouffe, and chicken and sausage gumbo.
Coosh is quick to point out that Cajun is not all they do. The menu offers a number of traditional salads, custom made burgers, and barbecue.

Coosh’s also has a vibrant catering business and has an impressive catering menu on his website with pricing to accommodate small and large groups.

Taking advantage of the thousands of people passing by the new location each morning, Coosh’s recently began serving breakfast Wednesday through Sunday. The breakfast menu is full of favorites, but the beignet’s and the muffins are becoming quite popular.

Asked how he has managed the tough economic times, Coosh said, “we kept the restaurant vibrant and we stayed strongly connected with the local community.”

Hours of Operation:
Mon-Tue 11:00am – 10:00pm
Wed-Sat 7:00am – 10:00pm
Sun 8:00am – 9:00pm

Address:
6267 Old Water Oak Rd, Ste 101
Tallahassee, FL 32312
850-894-4110
www.cooshs.com

They also have begun providing European-styled light lunches made from imported cheeses that the shop had been carrying and the delicious bread they had been producing.

The expansion will double the size of the shop from 1600 sq ft to 3200 sq ft. After they complete the multi-stage transition, they will have approximately 40-50 seats inside and 20 seats outside.

Joseph and Lisa Gans, the current owners who purchased the shop in 2002, said in the beginning “we had only three tables inside and two outside with a total seating of around 12. The layout was simple and appealing to the eye when a customer would visit.” Now they see a rebound in the economy and an opportunity to grow their business.

Like many small business owners, the Gans’ love the work they do and take chances and make sacrifices to continue their dream. Lisa received a rich, elaborate and classically detailed apprenticeship from the previous owner of the shop.

Before the economic downturn, Joseph traveled to Switzerland to work for a short period in a Confisserie owned by a colleague whose large staff of 25 Pastry Chefs produced fine pastries, chocolates, and bread. “This was a divine experience” said Joseph Gans.

While he was gone, Lisa, with their young son, ran the shop. The expansion comes after a tough time dealing with the downturn in the economy. To survive they did what small business owners do: they made adjustments and changes. They took additional work on themselves and

stopped outsourcing things as simple as laundry and started doing major repairs themselves. These repairs included welding broken steel tables, changing broken panes of glass, and constructing shelves after older ones had collapsed.

Joseph Gans said “even with all of this, we got moving again. All the time never doing the one thing we deemed to be the doom of any bakery or restaurant. We never lowered our quality. Not to save a penny or a dollar. We didn’t even raise our prices through the rough patch. Everyone was dealing with what we were, how could we try to pass the buck and try to pass an inferior product on the customers that had so loyally trusted our name and creations for so long?”

It seems to be a consistent rallying point. Never, ever lower the quality. Just improve the way you do it to continue to ensure the products are affordable to the community.

They say that several times they have been presented options that would save money here and there. But without batting an eye they refused to compromise quality, feeling that it would be sacrilege.

The expansion will facilitate two separate kitchen spaces to produce chocolates and the gluten free items they are so passionate about. “We have, for some time, wished to pursue the route of gluten free products but knew that within our current kitchen it would be impossible,” said Gans

It was with the discovery of their son’s gluten intolerance that they began to educate themselves into the depths of this facet of baking. What they thought was an intolerance has turned out to be much worse. With any exposure he has a severe reaction. The separated kitchen will not share doorways, air supplies or utensils with the normal baking kitchen.

“It is our goal to continue to produce the quality confections that people like our son have developed the love of, but now cannot enjoy without suffering. We have already been able to produce a large number of our creations without wheat or gluten products. When we achieve a bread of outstanding quality, that is also gluten free, then we will have been able to feel the accomplishment of providing the replacement so needed in our own home and our community,” said Gans.