STLMade Enterprise Unveils New Brand, South Grand Roundtable Explores Small Business Successes, Challenges, And Muny Announces 106th Season
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STLMADE ENTERPRISE UNVEILS NEW BRAND: ENTERPRISE MOBILITY
St. Louis-based Enterprise Holdings Inc. is now Enterprise Mobility, a rebrand that reflects the shifting state of transportation and technology, as well as the evolution of the company itself. The STLMade business, founded by Jack C. Taylor, father of Greater St. Louis, Inc. Founding Chair Andrew C. Taylor, has long been a successful global company intent on staying ahead of the curve.
“Since day one, we’ve been inspired by a bold idea: creating better experiences for how the world moves,” said Enterprise Mobility President and CEO Chrissy Taylor. “This marks the beginning of our next chapter, reinforcing our 90,000-strong global team’s commitment to deliver exceptional service for partners, customers and neighbors — innovating with intention to meet their ever-changing needs.”
As part of its work to implement the STL 2030 Jobs Plan, Greater St. Louis, Inc. is meeting with business owners, elected officials, and community and economic development leaders in each of the St. Louis region’s 15 counties to hear directly from them about what policies and initiatives are working and where they may need support to help strengthen their local economies. This week, our team spent time with leaders in both St. Louis City and Warren County.
SOUTH GRAND ROUNDTABLE EXPLORES SMALL BUSINESS SUCCESSES, CHALLENGES
GSL’s first visit this week was to South Grand Boulevard near St. Louis City’s Tower Grove Park. GSL met with small business owners, community leaders, and elected officials to hear directly from them about what’s working there and where they may need support through a regional initiative. The STL 2030 Jobs Plan noted that areas like South Grand are not just hubs of local business activity, but that they also act as centers of civic life.
WARREN COUNTY VISIT HIGHLIGHTS BENEFITS OF CATALYTIC AFG INVESTMENT
In a visit to Wright City, Missouri, GSL heard directly from local leaders about how catalytic investments, like the $800 million investment made by American Foods Group in Warren County, are driving broad economic growth and having larger impact on the surrounding community. “AFG has made not only a significant investment to Warren County, but also a major commitment to its people,” said Jason Hall, CEO of GSL.
Announced this week by Kwofe Coleman, President and CEO, and Mike Isaacson, Artistic Director and Executive Producer, the Muny’s 2024 season will feature seven shows, including a number of Broadway hits, the U.S. regional and Muny debut of “Waitress,” and the Muny premier of Lin Manuel Miranda’s “In the Heights.”
For more than a century, the Muny has served as a bedrock institution foundational to St. Louis’ vibrant arts and theater community. As the Regional Arts Commission announced recently, the arts contributed more $868 million to St. Louis' economy in 2022, with the sector generating 12,000 jobs, $611 million in wages, and four out of five tourists to the region.
$22M JJK FOOD INNOVATION CENTER COMING TO EAST ST. LOUIS
An innovation center planned for East St. Louis will offer career opportunities, nutrition and food production programming, greenhouses, and more. The $22 million JJK Food Agriculture Innovation Center — a partnership between the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Foundation (a GSL Investor Council member) and the University of Illinois — hopes to drive the regional economy and community development. Joyner-Kersee is a GSL board member.
Having a location in CITYPARK makes a noticeable difference in the bottom line of its food vendors, which almost exclusively include local restaurateurs. Gameday exposure increases awareness of these St. Louis brands, who see expanded sales more than most other soccer stadiums. “By the end of the season we’ll have more than $3.5 million injected into small businesses, just in restaurants alone,” said Matt Sebek, St. Louis CITY SC’s Chief Experience Officer.
St. Louis Magazine recently highlighted 75+ women making a difference in St. Louis. The list of “inspiring, clever, saavy, creative, remarkable, and impactful” women includes some from GSL investor companies, like Charlotte Hammond, GSL Board Member and CEO of Challenge Unlimited, as well as STLMade innovators, like Cynthia Chapple, founder of Black Girls Do STEM, and Keisha Mabry Haymore, founder and owner of Heydays.
BJC PROGRAM HELPS THOSE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS FIND JOBS
BJC Healthcare, an executive-level member of the GSL Chair’s Council, is expanding a successful behavioral health program that helps people with serious mental illness successfully find and keep jobs. BJC Behavioral Health uses a model called Individual Placement and Support, which works with employers while supporting individuals.
STLMade Build-A-Bear Workshop — a member of the GSL Chair’s Council — is closing the year with two high-profile premiers. The company’s entertainment division will release its first theatrical animated film, “Glisten and the Merry Mission,” in theaters Friday, Nov. 3. And the company announced that it will soon open its first store in Italy, in partnership with Giochi Preziosi S.p.A, an Italian toy distributor and retailer.
