Downtown Businesses Celebrate Their Re-Opening Saturday and You're Invited

SAN ANGELO, TX — The re-opening of San Angelo’s economy will be celebrated Saturday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. by the downtown merchants, restaurants and bars. All of these businesses were small, family owned and entrepreneurial, not big box retailers or fast food joints. While international corporations like Walmart thrived during the COVID-19 shutdown, small downtown businesses, many of them closed with a mandatory government shutdown, were left to die.

Even though many of the businesses, particularly the drinking establishments, cannot yet open at full capacity, downtown businesses have joined together for a Saturday celebration of their re-opening and it’s called “Downtown Strong.”

Starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 30, downtown stores and restaurants open for you to shop, eat, and drink with live music and special deals for all who come visit. The live music acts include:

Owners of antique and classic cars are welcome to drive around and park during the event. Downtown San Angelo event coordinator Monica Ramos said the parking lot at the Railway Museum is open for antique and classic cars to park and exhibit. Contact her at [email protected] if you are thinking about participating.

The Kona Ice snow cone truck will be at Backbeat Music now located in the former Masonic Lodge at 130 S. Oakes St.

The concept of Downtown Strong originated during the middle of the COVID-19 shutdown in April, Ramos said. Waiting for the right time when the appropriate government restrictions were lifted made planning for the Downtown Strong event an exercise in flexibility.

“Since nightlife is such a big part of the downtown experience, we needed the bars to be able to open,” she said. Flexibility adds with it the elements of surprise. “Something new is coming on board every day,” she said.

For example, Stemmed Designs announced today that the florist company will provide several downtown stores with fresh cut stemmed flowers to hand out to patrons. The flowers will be available while supplies last at:

The Grind Brew & Café (220A N Chadbourne St), 
Old Central Firehouse Pizzeria & Taproom (200A S Magdalen St), 
Eggemeyer’s General Store (35 E Concho Ave), and
Jessie Rose Mercantile (29 E Concho Ave).

The video team at San Angelo LIVE! will be broadcasting live over the Internet, on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Manny Diaz will host the show that will include on-the-scene interviews from various downtown merchants and restaurants. San Angelo’s Budweiser distributer, AB Distributing, is title sponsoring the broadcast.

Everyone is encouraged to tweet and Instagram the hashtag, #DowntownStrong all day. The event concludes at 6 p.m.

Downtown businesses will be taking part in the required measures to keep the public and their staff safe. Members of the community are encouraged to engage while still practicing safe and sanitary habits.

Updates about Downtown Strong are available on the Downtown San Angelo, Inc. Facebook page, by calling 325-655-2345 or via email [email protected].

The live broadcast will start at 11 a.m. on the San Angelo LIVE! Facebook page here, Twitter here, YouTube here, or on the home page of San Angelo LIVE!