by James Coulter
Normally, Kairos Nutrition serves healthy food. However, last Friday night, they allowed customers to indulge with some wine during the Lake Wales WineDOWNtown event.
Kairos Nutrition served samples of their protein donuts and fruit smoothies, as well as allowing potential customers to peruse their downtown shop while sampling wine.
Hector Cedeno and his family have been running the nutrition store in Lake Wales for the past eight months. They used last Friday’s event to open their doors late and interact with many potential customers.
“It has been amazing,” Cedeno said. “A lot of people have come through every time we taste something. It is amazing. They cannot believe it is nutritional. We have several customers from the turnaround.”
Having their business reside in Lake Wales for nearly a year, Cedeno appreciated the extra attention his store received while participating in the wine event.
“It has been amazing to be part of the community and we love getting involved with everyone here and the small businesses.,” he said.
Kairos Nutrition was one of the many businesses in downtown Lake Wales that participated in the annual WineDOWNtown community event on Friday evening.
Hosted by Lake Wales Main Street, nearly 28 local eateries and businesses opened their doors to allow residents and visitors alike to come inside, take a sip of wine, and indulge on appetizers.
Participating businesses that evening included Southern Roots, Cocoa Cake Studio, and Mayer Jewelers.
Even despite the rainy start that evening, this year’s event experienced a tremendous turnout, with their tickets nearly sold out by the day of the event, said Karen Thompson, LWMS Executive Director.
“I think it is a good time for people to get into the stores, and find out what new stores we have in downtown and support the businesses,” Thompson said. “There is a lot of food and wine. It is a good evening.”
Antiques and Oddities was another new business that participated that evening. An extension of the Lake Wales Care Center, the antique store sells items that have been initially donated to the center.
Being able to participate in WineDOWNtown allowed them to acquaint themselves with many new and potential customers, explained co-owner Josh Childress
“It was a pretty good turnout and a consistent customer base,” he said. “We are glad to be a part of it. We had plenty of potential customers. It has been great.”