Dugout Mugs signs deals with Fanatics, Dick’s Sporting Goods and more

Dugout Mugs, the Winter Haven-based maker of mugs made from baseball bats, and now stainless-steel mugs, is kicking off 2022 with a number of large-scale retail deals, including Fanatics, Pro Image Sports and Dick’s Sporting Goods. “One of my main goals this year was to go hard into retail because we’re getting to a point … Read more

Nipesh Shah has ambitions of creating a better world through humility and vigor

Photos by Michael McCoy This is a story of a little boy who was born to a large family in India and had large ambitions for success. After seizing any, and every, opportunity to pursue education, he found himself in the United States … with only a few hundred bucks in his pocket. That little … Read more

One Liners Sarasota: Architecture Sarasota, Goodwill Manasota and more

► Sarasota Architectural Foundation and Center for Architecture Sarasota will merge as a single entity to be called Architecture Sarasota and will be led by Anne-Marie Russell as executive director. ► Certified Collectibles Group purchased a 20,809-square-foot standalone office building at 6802 Energy Court, Sarasota, for $4.4 million. ► PGT Innovations, a window and door … Read more

Full Steam Ahead for Port Tampa Bay

The statistics speak for themselves: 85,000 direct and indirect jobs, 34 million tons of cargo a year, operating revenue of nearly $60 million, 1 million cruise passengers in 2018, and a footprint that encompasses more than 5,000 acres. Port Tampa Bay is Florida’s largest port by tonnage and land, and the region’s biggest economic engine. … Read more

Green Bench expansion is much more than added space

Green Bench Brewing recently announced a massive expansion to the tune of $3.4 million. Capitalizing on the convenience of an adjacent empty warehouse space, Nathan Stonecipher, co-owner of Green Bench, says the anticipated growth is a long time coming. “The plan has always been to grow deliberately, slowly and in control,” Stonecipher says. This is … Read more

Eric Newman is still rolling in Ybor City

Upon meeting Eric Newman, what strikes you immediately is his affable and humble demeanor. As the president of J.C. Newman Cigar Company, the oldest premium cigar company in the United States that is still owned by the founding family, according to a 2012 Cigar Journal story, Newman could take himself pretty seriously. But he doesn’t. … Read more