Well, it’s the start of a new week and I just wanted to let you know what’s been happening with us here at the shop on the small business payroll protection application front…not much. In fact, things are moving along at a snail’s pace, but at least they do seem to be moving forward.
One thing that IS moving along rather briskly here in Daytona is the massive multi-million dollar renovation of the downtown Beach St. area where our store is located. This started long before the Coronavirus got in the way and ironically, it’s the ONE thing that could be considered a “good” thing about all the social distancing. You see, they are doing a complete re-structuring of the two lane road in front of our shop and throughout the area. It will now be a one lane thoroughfare, but with much wider sidewalks and more room for the tourists to come and visit us and the other shops & restaurants along the strip.
Needless to say, any type of road construction is a nightmare just waiting to happen, however, with the stay at home order put in place for Florida, that meant that traffic was down to almost nothing. No traffic means less construction obstruction. Less obstruction means that things like road work moves along really fast!
Something else that kept moving along, is the brand new high rise office building being constructed by the law firm of Brown & Brown just a few blocks away. If you came to the convention last year, you saw the ground breaking and the first floor or two of one of the elevator shafts starting to be erected. Well, this beautiful monument in glass and steel will be open before you know it and when that happens, over 600 new people will be working there daily and will spend their lunch breaks and spare time where? You guessed it, right here on Beach Street and of course, here at Daytona Magic!
We were one of the first buildings in the area to begin to do interior and exterior rejuvenations and I’m proud to say that when it was all said and done, we now have one of the finest and most beautiful brick and mortar magic stores you have ever seen in your life! I really can’t wait for you come and visit. Every time people come into the shop, one of the first words out of their mouths are “It’s so nice to be in a REAL magic store!” or “I can’t believe that a store like this still exists!”. Those two interchangeable comments are always followed by “Man, it’s so nice and CLEAN in here!”
These days, no one comes into the shop, as we have closed the doors to the public for the time being. But, we are still running our full crew 9am – 5pm Monday – Friday and 10am – 2:00pm on Saturday. We are ready to help you either re-discover your love of magic, guide you to a new twist on your act, or show you the latest magic tricks we are constantly discovering that will put you 10 steps ahead of the competition! Online and on the phone, we’re here for you!
So, as the COVID-19 curve flattens and hopefully subsides soon, we are taking it day by day, knowing that things WILL get back to normal sooner rather than later. But until then, just like our payroll protection application….we wait!
Magically yours,
Harry Allen