St. Mark's Area Main Street

Karen Henry-Garrett (left) and Estela Marina

For Valentine’s Day – and beyond - Dot 2 Dot Cafe and Harmony Floral Designs have joined forces to bring Dorchester a one-stop shop for great food and beautiful flowers.

Dot-2-Dot and Harmony are located at 1739 Dorchester Ave (3 doors south from St. Mark’s Church).  Hours of operation: 8 am to 2 pm, Tuesday through Sunday.  Dot-2-Dot Valentine gift baskets start at $15.  Bouquets and floral designs from Harmony Floral Designs – please ask for prices.

For more information, please call the cafe at 617-436-2368, Harmony at 617-288-6300 (number will be active as of Feb 6), or visit www.dot2dotcafe.com

Ashmont Cycles, Ashmont Grill, Epiphany School and Mass Affordable Housing Alliance have joined businesses from across the region in dedicating the next year to increase their sustainability and reduce energy use through participation in  A Better City’s “Challenge for Sustainability.”

Participants in the 2012 Challenge include some of Boston’s largest buildings and progressive
businesses, from convention centers to small pizza shops.

Thanks to our local businesses and organizations, SMAMS has the highest participation rate of any Main Street district in Boston!

The Challenge helps businesses save money by increasing energy efficiency, reducing resource consumption, decreasing solid waste, and reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions. ABC provides participants with hands-on technical assistance, access to energy audits, guidance in developing and implementing a sustainability plan, and connection to a network of sustainability professionals and practitioners for networking and best practices sharing.

Participation for businesses throughout Boston’s Main Streets districts has been made possible through a partnership with the City of Boston and funding from The Boston Foundation.

The Challenge for Sustainability was launched in 2009 by A Better City, a non-profit business association focused on transportation, land development, and environmental initiatives aimed at improving the economic competitiveness of Greater Boston.

Thanks to all who attended our Quarterly Business Networking Breakfast on January 19  at Ashmont Grill. The breakfast, sponsored by Eastern Bank, featured presentations by Eastern’s Nick Calos, Brandon Guillermo of Diverse Elements Consulting, and and a feature presentation on the Boston Business Hub, a City-sponsored web site with a wealth of information on starting, managing, expanding or relocating your business.  For the Boston.com story on the breakfast, please click here.  Watch for our next breakfast in the spring!

“Deck the Windows” is a competition and celebration featuring the best-decorated business windows from 18 local Main Street districts around Boston. The business chosen as the Citywide winner will receive a special presentation from Mayor Menino at their shop on December 20th.

Please give your vote to SMAMS’ window champion, GiGi Hair Concept, by visiting http://www.cityofboston.gov/lightsonmain/windows2011/

Please also forward to to your friends & family everywhere – worldwide votes are accepted!

Those without Internet access can vote by phone at 617-701-6267.

GiGi Hair Concept, located at 1730 Dorchester Ave., is a full-service hair salon serving more than 300 clients from all backgrounds and cultures. They also offer services for clients with conditions such as alopecia.

Voting closes 9:00 AM December 19, so please vote early and spread the word!

After voting, please stop by GiGi’s for a visit, and please check out all of SMAMS’ participating businesses:

Eden Natural Lifestyle Boutique (honorable mention), 1882 Dorchester Ave

Jack Conway, Realtor (honorable mention) 1810 Dorchester Ave

Tavolo Ristorante, 1918 Dorchester Ave

Flat Black Coffee Company, 1906 Dorchester Ave

Yankee Insurance, 569 Talbot Ave

Ashmont Grill, 555 Talbot Ave

Ashmont Realty, 551B Talbot Avenue

Ashmont Cycles, 551A Talbot Ave

Sea Breeze Mexican Grill, 1782 Dorchester Ave

Celia & Company Furniture, Clothing & Accessories, 1775-A Dorchester Ave

House of Kay’s Boutique, 1758 Dorchester Ave

Dot-2-Dot Cafe, 1739 Dorchester Ave

Beauty Line Beauty Supply, 1692 Dorchester Ave

Peabody Square Rain Garden (photo by Charles River Watershed Assoc)

On Dec. 5, WGBH Radio aired a feature story on the “rain garden” in Peabody Square. For the full story of this natural way to filter storm water, Please click here.

The Rain Garden grew out of SMAMS’ 2004 community planning project, funded by Boston Main Streets, which led to the overall redesign of the Square. The City’s Dept. of Environmental & Energy Services played a key role in funding the rain garden, which serves as a pilot program for other infrastructure renovations around the City. The Department also connected SMAMS with the Charles River Watershed Association, with whom we collaborated on design of the rain garden and on another filtration system, the “porous pavement” plaza in front of Ashmont Grill.