Restaurant Row at Butler Plaza™ gets a little sweeter with Gigi’s Cupcakes
Gourmet cupcake boutique, Gigi’s Cupcakes, will open its doors in Butler Plaza this December. The store will be located in the redevelopment site currently under construction at 3524 SW Archer Road. It is the third tenant announced at this location, following BurgerFi and WhichWich.
Gigi’s Cupcakes currently has 84 locations in 23 states. This is the sixth location in Florida and the first location in Gainesville.
“I look forward to bringing home this wonderful product to Gainesville and sharing it with the Gator Nation!” said Nicole Rollins, a 20-year Gainesville resident, who co-owns the cupcake store with her husband, Eric.
Gigi’s Cupcakes offers more than 90 unique recipes, including flavors like “Hunka Chunka Banana Love” and “Scarlett’s Red Velvet.” The gourmet boutique offers full size cupcakes, mini cupcakes and cheesecakes in addition to three gluten free cupcake flavors, which will be available on Fridays. The weekly menu can be found at www.gigiscupcakesusa.com, with ten flavors rotating daily.
Scarborough New Chair of Gainesville Alachua County Regional Airport Authority
Brian Scarborough, co-owner of Scarborough Insurance, was recently elected as Chairman of the Gainesville Alachua County Regional Airport Authority. Scarborough was appointed by the city commission to the authority in 2010 and will serve as chair for the next year.
BioFlorida Conference Recognizes Area Leaders
Nearly 500 business executives, scientists and other stakeholders gathered in Tampa for the 16th BioFlorida Conference. Throughout the conference, individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the life sciences industry were recognized and applauded for their impact, which is of growing importance to Florida’s economy.
James D. Talton, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nanotherapeutics, was honored with the Weaver H. Gaines Entrepreneur Award, which recognizes an entrepreneur who has made extraordinary contributions to the growth of the life sciences in the leadership of a company or institution. Nanotherapeutics, a University of Florida Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator graduate, is a privately held emerging biopharmaceutical company with both proprietary platform technologies and a diversified pipeline of products.
Under Dr. Talton’s leadership, Nanotherapeutics was awarded a contract by the Department of Defense (DOD) for the research and development services in support of medical countermeasure capabilities. These capabilities established by Nanotherapeutics will allow the DOD to more efficiently and expeditiously develop Medical Countermeasures (MCM) to protect and treat military populations against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) attacks and outbreaks of naturally occurring emerging and genetically engineered infectious diseases. Through private financing, Nanotherapeutics will build its 165,000 square foot Advanced Development and Manufacturing Center in Alachua that will result in 150 new jobs.
The BioFlorida Leadership Award was presented to Patti Breedlove, Director of the UF Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator. Breedlove was recognized for her leadership role within BioFlorida, dedicating significant time to the organization’s mission and serving as a true ambassador to fuel the growth of life sciences in Florida.
Breedlove is an active participant on the BioFlorida executive team and board of directors, as well as chair of the membership committee. She also leads the Celebration of Biotechnology, an annual event in Alachua to recognize biotechnology advances.