Jackson Free Press

Whole Foods Market's South regional buyers visited the Mississippi Agriculture & Forestry Museum (1150 Lakeland Drive) in Jackson Monday, Feb. 18, to meet local farmers and producers. More than 90 producers attended the event, in which Whole Foods Market provided details on how to become a vendor for the market.

Whole Foods Market opens this fall at Highland Village shopping center, 4500 Interstate 55 N., in Jackson.

Historic Preservation Awards

Jackson's Historic Preservation Commission is hosting the Historic Preservation Awards in May. Outstanding historic preservation projects completed between January 2010 and January 2013 qualify for awards.

The competition's categories include restoration and rehabilitation for residential, commercial and institutional buildings; historic landscape and archaeology preservation; and new construction and preservation of education and media buildings.

The HPC is accepting applications until April 8, at 5 p.m. For information or to receive entry forms, contact Akili Kelly, senior planner of Historic Preservation with the City of Jackson, at 601-960-1900 or email [email protected].

Mississippi Small Business Analysis

A new state-by-state report released today by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy shows that Mississippi employed 436,996 workers in 2010 with most of the employment coming from firms with 20 to 499 employees.

The Small Business Profile for the States and Territories found that overall self-employment in Mississippi declined over the last decade, while minority self-employment saw growth.

Mississippi's 240,378 small businesses represent 96.5 percent of all employers and employ 49.5 percent of the private-sector labor force. Nationwide, 27.8 million small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all employers and employ 49.1 percent of the private-sector labor force.

Downtown Cafe Open

Downtown Cafe opened for business Monday, Feb. 18, on the site of the former Miller's Grill at 224 E. Capitol St. In addition to po-boys, daily plate-lunch specials and the restaurant's signature chicken and waffles, owner and head chef Aubrey Norman Jr. has a vision for the new location that includes seafood and a unique take on the fine dining experience. 2013 marks Downtown Cafe's second year in business.

Chef Norman recently received the Jackson Convention & Visitor's Bureau's Hometown Hero Award for his work in promoting tourism and inspiring entrepreneurship. He began his culinary career working in hotels and was the general manager at the Steam Room Grille for four years until it closed in 2010.