Swiss Bear Inc., the Main Street program administrator for the City of New Bern, announced a safely re-imagined MumFest, now appropriately renamed MumFeast! This month-long weekends-only event will be an expansion of Downtown New Bern’s very successful Friday and Saturday evenings dining in the streets. Downtown streets will close at 5 p.m. Fridays and remain closed through 9:30 p.m. Saturdays so participating restaurants can provide “Feasting in the Streets”. Stores will have sidewalk and street displays, and a handful (6-8) of artisans will be safely positioned in the streets each weekend as well. One of the most talked about components from 2019 will be hereRead More →

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I was using the Find My Friend function on my iPhone when I noticed the satellite image showed a lot of activity in Downtown New Bern. (Quick mansplaining: Find My Friend uses real-time location data superimposed on a map, satellite image, or hybrid to show locations of people you share location data with. It is an IOS-only app, although I am sure Android devices have something similar.) The satellite image of New Bern that Find My Friend uses was taken in the fall during Mumfest sometime in the last year or two. I checked using Apple’s Maps app and found the Mumfest satellite images there,Read More →

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The COVID-19 Small Business Loan Program is being launched at noon Friday, June 5. This program is specifically designed for small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 crisis to provide emergency, short-term loans for eligible small businesses located within the New Bern city limits. Funds may be used for business related expenses including rent, mortgage payments, working capital, or other similar expenses that occur in the ordinary course of business. Loan amounts will be equivalent to two (2) month’s actual monthly rental/mortgage payments of the business, not to exceed a maximum total of $10,000 for an individual small business. Loans will be unsecured with repayment terms of a NoRead More →

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Swiss Bear Inc. received a $10,000 grant for innovative revitalization efforts to address impacts of COVID-19. Eight accredited Main Street America Programs were selected to receive this grant from hundreds of applicants across the country. “These winning ideas represent the ingenuity, resiliency, and entrepreneurial thinking that have made Main Street a powerful tool for revitalization and will be vital to economic recovery moving forward,” said Main Street America’s President and CEO Patrice Frey. “These programs have not only actively positioned their communities and programs for success, but they have also offered model approaches that can be adopted by other Main Streets responding to the impactRead More →

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While some Downtown New Bern restaurants and shops have opted to shut down temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most are still open for business with adjusted hours and a more limited menu to keep it simple for customers. DSwiss Bear, Inc. is supplementing the shutdown of downtown restaurant dining rooms and bars. The organization’s website has been transformed into a gift card purchasing directory and most establishments have created curbside and delivery options for customers. Downtown business owners jumped into action before the call from Governor Cooper was made Tuesday to shut down dining rooms by holding an emergency downtown meeting on Tuesday afternoon.Read More →

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In: Activities, Business, Community, Downtown New Bern, Economy, Economy and Employment, Health, Swiss Bear
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Swiss Bear, Inc. announced that the state of North Carolina has selected New Bern as the host of the 40th Annual NC Main Street Conference at the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center and throughout downtown from March 10-12. The conference stems from The Main Street Program, which is a proven and successful economic development method that helps renew interest, energy and prosperity in the central business districts of small and mid-sized communities across the state.  The conference itself will explore the impact of the program over the past forty years and will look to the future for forthcoming areas of engagement. The three-day event willRead More →

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