Mount Dora Merchants Not Participating in the "Recession"!

This post is a rebuttal to a recent article written in the Orlando Sentinel by Martin E. Comas about the Mount Dora Merchants feeling the "squeeze of the shaky economy". Follow this link if you want to familiarize yourself with the article;

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/custom/consumer/orl-mountdora2008apr20,0,4628127.story

To call the article irresponsible reporting would be a compliment considering that there is ample evidence to prove that the author completely ignored the positive comments he received from various merchants who told of fabulous numbers and increasing business. Though we certainly sympathize with the merchants who have been affected by current economic conditions we must realize that there are always two sides to every story. Mr. Comas chose to share only one side of that story though he gathered information quite to the contrary!

Case in point would be the owners of the Chew Chew Express who will happily tell all that they are doing well in spite of a season full of growing pains through expansion and build out. They told Mr. Comas in person these facts and were totally ignored come press time in lieu of the agenda of perpetuating the "recession" mantra. Kudos to Mark and Tracy at Chew Chew Express and I look forward to my two or three time visitation to their restaurant on a weekly basis.

A few well placed phone calls on the part of Mr. Comas would have given him certain irrefutable facts such as the over 1,000 room nights experienced by the innkeepers at the Tremain Street Cottages this past year which is a record by over 400 room nights from the previous year. A simple phone call to the Mount Dora Historic Inn or the Grandview Bed & Breakfast would have revealed similar facts.

Consider the scores of new businesses that have opened recently that more than make up for the cyclical closing of the reported 11 who are going out. Oddly enough there isn't a single person in town who can count 11 businesses closing up shop.

Mount Dora now has an upscale clothing boutique by way of The Painters Daughter who is clearly in town to stay. The new Mount Dora Sushi Company and Cupcake Delights are enjoying great success at this time. The soon to open Synergy Salonspa has expressed no reservations about current conditions. The new owners of Whispering Winds, Farnsworth House Bed & Breakfast and Cigars, Etc. have embraced the realities and found a way to thrive in spite of the reported conditions.

These are just a few examples of the many new businesses or expanded businesses that I could talk about. The point is simple, there are many merchants in Mount Dora who are refusing to participate in the reported "recession"! For a complete list of these merchants please visit www.WhatToDoInMountDora.com and start counting.

Mount Dora weathered the Great Depression, if Mr. Comas thinks that a cyclical economic downturn in an election year is something new in our over 100 year history then his is sorely mistaken. It would be wonderful to get the facts from both sides of the coin but clearly that is not going to happen though we invite Mr. Comas back to town to re-report if he has any desire to get it right.

Mount Dora is still fabulous and we are open for business!

Here's to sitting out the "recession" with a bottle of fine red wine.










Cheers from Mount Dora,
Brian