Benicia upbeat after not winning contest

BENICIA >> Although the city didn’t win, Benicia officials are still declaring victory after being named to the Top 5 Towns in for season 5 of The Small Business Revolution, according to a press release from the city.

At a watch party at Zeppelin Comics, Benicia businesses and the city of Benicia learned Tuesday evening that the city was not named the winner in the contest, which provides a $500,000 prize for makeover and marketing assistance for five to six downtown businesses from Amanda Brinkman and Ty Pennington and the Small Business Revolution team.

“Our business organizations, business owners and residents worked hard to get the word out,” said Mario Giuliani, economic development manager, in the same city press release. “Being a part of The Small Business Revolution has been a boon to bringing downtown Benicia to the attention of national, statewide and local audiences. Coming together in the vote shows how our local organizations, independent businesses, and friends and fans can work as a team to promote Benicia. We expect to see this momentum continue as we all work together to promote Benicia.”

In early December, a team from Deluxe visited downtown Benicia, meeting with city staff, Benicia Main Street and independent businesses on First Street.

On Jan. 14, Benicia was named to the Top 5 Towns along with Fredonia, NY; The Dalles, OR; Spearfish, SD; and Livingston, MT. Voting opened immediately after the announcement. Benicia businesses and friends and fans throughout the state voted once per day/per device through Tuesday, Jan. 21. In results shared throughout the vote, Benicia ranked 5th in the standings.