Madison Avenue Business Association Launches 'Meet Me' Event
If you’re on or around Madison Avenue later this month with at least $20 to spend, there will be specials and deals aplenty as part of a new event to boost business to the street.
The Madison Avenue Business Association, a collection of businesses along the busy thoroughfare that launched their organization in 2012, is hosting its inaugural “Meet Me Along Madison” event March 22 and 23.
On those days, participating restaurants, retail outlets and service-oriented businesses will all be featuring an item for $20.16. Taking part will be Madison mainstays like Boscos Squared, which will offer a beer and food flight; Maggie’s Pharm and The Square Olive with gift baskets; and S Berry Jones Architects and PR specialist Shannon R. Little will offer consulting specials, among offers from other participants.
Participant details are available at www.facebook.com/MadisonIsMidtown.
“We hope to make Meet Me Along Madison a yearly event, to keep with our goals of promoting Madison businesses and keeping our street active and entertaining,” said Little, who’s also the business association’s marketing chair.
And keeping the street active is a reference to the entire street, stressed Lafayette’s Music Room director of sales Kellie Walker.
“It’s not just about Madison around Overton Square – we go all the way down,” Walker said. “We’re trying to include everyone, so everyone feels they’re part of a community surrounding our street.”
That’s done via things that include street cleanups – the association leads the way on those a couple times a year – as well as quarterly mixers, to name a few.
The association is a nonprofit that’s led by the area’s business owners, other leaders and merchants. In 2012, a group of 50 business owners and operations came together at Minglewood Hall to get acquainted and get things started.
An early focus of the association included improving the Madison streetscape as it was getting new street light fixtures. An emphasis on the entirety of the street, not just around Overton Square, also quickly emerged.
Little said the business association has three goals: keep Madison Avenue clean and beautiful, promote businesses on the street, and provide a fun and lively district for the city to enjoy.
“Over the years, we have tackled projects such as working with the city to paint the light poles and install bike racks, installing heavy-duty trash cans in high litter areas, hosted online photo contests, pursued media opportunities for smaller businesses, and sponsored community events,” she said. “We also host seasonal clean-ups of the street and quarterly mixers for those who work on Madison Avenue.”
That’s in addition to things like, now, “Meet Me Along Madison.” Among other deals the public can expect during the inaugural event: $20.16 gets you four bags of fresh flavored popcorn from Sweet Noshings; a three-course meal at Robata; two draft beers and a pizza at Lafayette’s Music Room; a guided studio tour for two at Ardent Music; and a “lunch for two” special at The Blue Monkey.
