JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Saturday's date is 9/04.
That happens to be the area code for Duval, Nassau, St. Johns and Clay counties.
And it's also 904 Day, as civic and community leaders from Northeast Florida use that confluence of month and date to rally residents and visitors to support local businesses this Labor Day weekend.
The fourth day of September has unofficially been 904 Day in the Jacksonville area for the past few years, organizers said. Then other Florida cities began grassroots efforts to help their local businesses as well, such as Orlando's 407 Day on April 7 and Miami's 305 Day on March 5.
Melissa Ross, host of WJCT-FM's First Coast Connect talk show, said she and others were trading tweets a few months ago about Orlando and Miami's events, and the idea of a more official 904 Day was born. She boosted the idea on air this week as the initiative grew to help this area's homegrown shops and restaurants that have been hard hit by a year and a half of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"People were already informally celebrating Sept. 4 on social media with the hashtag #904Day," Ross said. "We sought to take that grassroots effort far and wide and get all of the major players in the city involved in promoting 904 Day as a way to celebrate and support small businesses."
Natalie DeYoung was one of those involved in the discussion. As communications director at Jacksonville's Wingard marketing firm, she and co-workers developed 904 Day logos that businesses could use for free in Saturday promotions. She also began getting the word spread for a more "cohesive" event that can help them after waning sales due to the pandemic.
"The pandemic has not spared any sector of its impact, whether it is a direct business hit or employees who have had COVID," DeYoung said. "We hope that just making people think about ways they can support their local community will help, and the timing couldn't be better with Labor Day weekend."
Small businesses do their part
904 Day celebrates all local businesses, especially small ones, of which there are more than 2.7 million in Florida alone, according to the Small Business Administration. The timing is perfect for Manifest Distilling at 960 E. Forsyth St., as it opens its new Cocktail Room the day before, company President David Cohen said.
As part of 904 Day, it is also joining with Bold Bean Coffee shops in the area to donate a portion of proceeds to LIFT JAX, a local initiative of business and community leaders working to eradicate generational poverty in Jacksonville. It also is another way to do community involvement, like the distillery did making hand sanitizer during the pandemic, Cohen said.
"Being downtown and I am a Jacksonville native, as is a lot of our staff, to be heavily involved with something like 904 Day is obviously important to us," Cohen said. "We feel like we are part of that fabric of downtown with a lot of 904 pride. ... Those are things that qualify us to participate, plus the timing of it all with the launch of our Cocktail Room and charitable-giving campaign."
A 904 Day-themed cocktail could be unveiled as well, Cohen said.
Liberty Bakery owner Bob Kernan renovated a former Skinners Dairy at Bowden and Parental Home roads into a 500-square-foot bake and sandwich shop eight years ago. Having a day that encourages folks to shop locally means a lot to a family-run business open Mondays through Saturdays, and neighborhood customers keep them busy with breakfast, lunch and other orders, he said.
"That's really important for supporting the local people in all sorts of endeavors, whether it's a wedding, catering or just drive-up," Kernan said. "We cook everything here on site, so as you can imagine we have outlawed the words 'Excuse me' because we bump into each other so often."
Willie's of Avondale has been a fixture for about 30 years at 3567 St Johns Ave., much of that with the same owners until Megan Kodatt took over the children's boutique two years ago. She believes in locally owned businesses and has customers who are like neighbors, she said.
"We are a neighborhood store so we drop things on porches for people close by, and for customers who drive in, we know them also," she said. "... I appreciate a push for that because it is very supportive and a great way to support us. I am grateful for that."
Downtown Vision, chambers, Visit Jacksonville and others sign on
Joining in the grassroots effort are a number of official groups like Downtown Vision, which administers a nonprofit business improvement district for downtown Jacksonville. The JAX Chamber and the First Coast Hispanic Chamber of Commerce are also involved, along with Visit Jacksonville, which markets the area as a tourist destination. and Wingard.
Business owners can participate in 904 Day by tagging their social media photos and posts with logos found on bit.ly/3jsbR9W. And those who shop on 904 Day are also asked to support local businesses with photos on social media, tagging posts with #904Day.
"Get that momentum flowing toward locally owned small businesses and also celebrate this city too," Ross said.
DeYoung said they hope to grow 904 Day involvement in future years, beginning with "piggybacking" on the city's bicentennial celebrations in 2022.
dscanlan@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4549
Celebrating Saturday's 904 Day
• Manifest Distilling at 960 E. Forsyth St. opens The Cocktail Room.
• Underbelly at 113 E Bay St. will have 11 acts on two stages beginning at noon with admission $9.04.
• Jax Taco Fest: noon to 9 p.m. at Riverfront Plaza, 2011 Independent Drive.
• WJCT Studios hosts the 904 Octane car show 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at 100 Festival Park Ave. Organized by Jacksonville Car Culture, it's free to spectators. Those showing off a car will pay a $10 admission fee, a portion to benefit Hunger Fight.
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