From staff reports
In another significant milestone in the City’s relaunching of Main Street Beaufort, a new website, www.mainstreetbeaufort.org, is now live, providing a comprehensive guide to all things all things related to historic downtown Beaufort – shopping, restaurants, lodging, tours, historic attractions and museums, events, and a digital map.
“We are so excited to have a landing page for all things downtown Beaufort,” said Main Street Director Ashley Brandon. “We love that we were able to highlight every single business downtown and we believe it will be so helpful to our visitors and even to our residents.”
Beaufort has been a longtime member of the South Carolina Main Street organization, but recommitted to it in 2023-2024 with events, plus the launch of Facebook and Instagram pages.
“There are 33 Main Streets in South Carolina,” Brandon said. “We all connect through a Facebook group. This allows us to network with our peers, share information and resources.” In addition, staff from the City of Beaufort’s Downtown Operations Department attend Main Street classes to develop even more expertise in keeping downtown vital and thriving.
Belonging to Main Street also means taking advantage of the technical training South Carolina offers to help in historic preservation.
“For example, we can help with storefronts,” Ashley said. “What should they look like? What is likely to bring more customers in?”
Nan Sutton, owner of the Lulu Burgess gift shop on Bay Street, is a big advocate of Main Street and its benefits. “We need an ambassador for all the downtown businesses, and Main Street Beaufort provides a synergistic effect that brings all the downtown businesses together under one umbrella to make sure they have what they need to succeed,” she said.
