EUSTIS, Fla. – Business owners feel there’s a lot of potential in downtown Eustis, but also said they feel like the economic development isn’t as strong as it could be.
Rae Chimento is the owner of One Thirteen Coffeehouse and said that initially, people were discouraging her from opening up shop in Eustis.
“Everybody says don’t go to Eustis, don’t go to Eustis, because that’s the saying is that’s where businesses go to die,” Chimento said. “We have a lot of changeover that happens here in downtown Eustis.”
Chimento said she has only been open for 6 week and despite those comments it was important for her to open a business in downtown Eustis.
“We’re coming because we believe Eustis is on the verge of something new,” Chimento said. “This is our hometown. This is where we grew up. This is where we spend our time, and we wanted to provide something that was missing.”
Projects for downtown Eustis are either on the horizon or underway, like the State Road 19 improvement project.
The construction has been a pain point for some business owners, like George Warren at Bay Pharmacy. He said he’s losing parking spaces, making it harder for people to pick up their medication.
“For somebody to just come in here, an engineer that doesn’t even know us, to decide a street program which really makes your blood kind of boil a little bit,” Warren said.
After speaking to Chimento and Warren, News 6 went by City Hall to ask City Manager Tom Carrino about economic development and the SR 19 project.
As far as the reputation of Eustis being the place where businesses go to die, Carrino said he doesn’t think that’s true.
“I think the key is learning from the folks that have been generational, early, successful and helping new entrepreneurs and new businesspeople figure out what it takes to be successful,” Carrino said.
Carrino said there’s a number of opportunities for Eustis, like the development of a three-block site that used to be the home of the Florida Hospital Waterman location.
He said people could expect to see some mixed-use there, and possibly a hotel.
“Not a lot of opportunities in Central Florida where you have a three-block blank slate in your quaint, historic downtown to kind of reinvent yourself as far as downtown,” Carrino said.
News 6 also asked Carrino about the loss of parking spaces as a result of the SR 19 project.
“Yes, there is a plan for parking,” Carrino said. “That plan is going to develop as we figure out what’s happening on the three blocks. Because we know we’re losing some spaces along the corridor, and we know that when someone develops those three blocks, there are going to be more people visiting downtown, they’re going to be more people living in downtown. I look forward to the day where we need more parking in downtown Eustis.”
Carrino said the SR 19 project has an estimated completion of October 2025.