Rivage Atlantique, the long-awaited new venture at 652 High St., in The Quarter area of Downtown Worthington, is now open! Join us there tomorrow, May 11, for a Business After Hours from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The Chamber helped to welcome Worthington's newest fine dining establishment with a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday, May 9.

Chef Rich Flagg brings to the restaurant 15 years of experience as an executive chef, specializing in the seafood of traditional New England dishes and Carolina's Low Country. Owners Brett Holland - a longtime Worthington resident and community supporter - and Bill Cosgrove have spent the past few months remodeling the space to create a warm and inviting, upscale atmosphere for restaurant dining, as well as a distinctive bar area, The Back Room, that is destined to be a popular gathering place for Worthington's business professionals, residents and visitors.  

Attendees at the Business After Hours will learn more about the restaurant and enjoy food and beverages, as well as door prizes and great networking. 

Those who pre-registered by noon today are included in the "Know Before You Go" feature of the website. They will receive a preprinted name tag, and be eligible for extra door prizes.  Limited parking is available in the lot at The Quarter in front of Rivage, in the rear near The Back Room entrance, and on the street. Additional parking is available in the municipal lots near the United Methodist Church and behind The Worthington Inn.    

Business After Hours (BAH) events are designed to give Worthington Chamber members the opportunity to network with other members in an informal setting and to learn more about Chamber member businesses.

As an exhibitor ...

you'll benefit from exposure to 400-500 expected attendees, including 109 exhibitors from four area chambers of commerce. Exhibit spaces are limited, so reserve your space now. Click on "REGISTER NOW"

or this link to access the event sign-up page on the Chamber's Web site, where you can view the available spaces and rates. Questions? Call the Chamber Office at 888-3040 or e-mail theresa@worthingtonchamber.org.

As a visitor to the Expo ...

you'll enjoy great networking, giveaways and door prizes from exhibitors, and an opportunity to learn about more than 100 businesses.

Admission is free for chamber members and other area businesspeople. There will be free appetizers, a cash bar and lots of prizes.

Join the Women's Business Network of the Worthington Area Chamber of Commerce on May 17, from  11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Oakland Nursery, 1156 Oakland Park Ave., Columbus, for our monthly meeting hosted by Evelyn Chamberlin, account executive, Oakland Nursery Interiorscape/Streetscape Divisions.

With more than four years of management and plant design experience at Oakland Nursery Interiorscape/Streetscape Divisions, Evelyn has developed a well-established team of plant professionals and a successful and always-growing sales and marketing campaign, while remaining strategically focused on the growth and professional quality of the organization. While achieving her horticulture degree in agriculture at The Ohio State University, she enhanced her studies abroad to embrace the culture and design of English gardens in the United Kingdom. 

Her presentation: The How, What, and Why Of Container Gardening

• How do you get started with container gardening?
• What do you need to get started with container gardening?
• Why choose container gardening?

Evelyn will share her planting secrets and helpful hints on making your containers look like the professionals, without the professional price tag. Plan to attend this informative luncheon and mini-workshop. Our event will be held in the Gustav & Bertha Reiner Education Center, which is located behind the retail building.

Reservations are due by May 15. Reserve your place through the REGISTER NOW link above or by calling the Chamber at (614) 888-3040. 

Plans are under way for A Taste of Worthington, the Chamber's 20th annual food sampling festival, on Friday, July 15, from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., in the parking area of OfficeScape Corporate Center, 350 W. Wilson Bridge Road. 

The event offers great tastes and family fun as guests enjoy affordably priced appetizers, entrées and desserts from area restaurants in a festive block party atmosphere, with live music and family activities. Sponsors have the opportunity to showcase their products and services to approximately 3,000 guests, and area restaurants can show off tastes of their best as they vie for honors in the "People's Choice" competition for the crowd's favorite foods.

If you are interested in being a sponsor, food vendor or volunteer for the event, please contact the Chamber at 888-3040 as soon as possible, or click REGISTER NOW in the registration panel above to select your sponsorship level.

Worthington Square's new owners have big plans to make the 138,000 square foot mixed-use retail center the "place" to be, announcing today a new name for the center, The Shops at Worthington Place (www.ShopWorthingonPlace.com). Owners also announced that a $10 million renovation loan from Wesbanco closed this week, paving the way for the start of construction this summer. The group also reported that design and merchandising plans are being finalized and has released initial renderings for the renovated center with more on tap to be released soon.

In renaming the center, the owners sought to blend the old with the new - keeping the word "Worthington" acknowledges the center's location and history. Worthington resident and owner Tom Carter said, "We felt that it was important to maintain the legacy and history of the center by keeping the word 'Worthington' in the name. And we believe the word 'Place' invites people to make The Shops at Worthington Place their place to shop, dine and relax." The new name announcement coincides with news that renovation financing has closed, bringing the center one step closer to renovation.

Click here to read more in a press release from the owners and to see additional concept sketches.