Recently, Daytona Beach Mayor Glenn Ritchey hired a consultant to help revive Beach Street and bring the area back to prominence. While this new development will bring an added boost to the Daytona area, we wanted to bring attention to a few local gems that already exist.
Each issue, we will be highlighting one local shop, one restaurant and one entertainment venue that might otherwise be lost and unknown. Daytona offers more than just beaches for seasonal tourists, and it is time we get to know our area.
Our first shop offering is Frame of Mind, a shop that sells everything from clothing and jewelry to art and screen prints. All of their products are from local artists, which is yet another way to support the community. You can find Frame of Mind at 23 W. Granada Blvd, a fifteen minute drive from the Daytona campus, but well worth it.
No resident of Daytona Beach should ever complain about a lack of food offerings, because the city is littered with specialty restaurants and regardless of your preference, you can find it here. Our first recommended restaurant is The Dancing Avocado Kitchen at 110 S. Beach Street. With an atmosphere like no other in the area, the kitchen is best described as eclectic, but you will just have to judge it for yourself. Before leaving, be sure to check out the locally made snacks and desserts they sell.
Film novices and cinema junkies alike should check out our next recommendation, the Cinematique at 242 S. Beach Street. For twenty years, the Cinematique has worked to bring international, national and independent films to residents of Daytona Beach. Through Dec. 8, they will be showing Melancholia, a science fiction movie starring Kirsten Dunst, penned a “psychological disaster film.”
While the city of Daytona pays developer Robert Gibbs 38,500 dollars to drum up support for a variety of new business to expand to our area, we should support the businesses who already call us home.