Big dreams and a love for their community has brought the entrepreneurial spirit to the small towns of Sumter County, Georgia, located in west-central Georgia, convenient to I-75, three hours south of Atlanta and only two hours north of I-10, an ideal stopping point when en route to Florida. Most think of larger cities for businesses, but the unpretentious area is home to a record label, a fair trade coffee company, and even an organic products store, all bringing innovation and inspiring future generations of visionaries and trailblazers.
Record labels aren’t just for Los Angeles and Nashville. Americus native Corey Flegel founded This Is American Music, an independent label, in 2009 with a diverse lineup of artists. The emerging Southern artists hail from New Orleans, Muscle Shoals, and beyond and have been talked about in publications like Paste and Southern Living. If you’re a fan of bluegrass, Southern rock, or Americana, you’ll find a sound that you connect with from this Sumter County company.
Just as many distilling and brewing projects began, Thirteenth Colony Distilleries in Americus started as a home project. A group of friends distilled spirits to give as holiday gifts. Today, they’re one of the state’s leading craft distilleries, crafting an award-winning lineup of whiskeys, bourbons, vodkas, and gins. Inspired by the state they call home, the company is named for Georgia, the last colony of the Americas. The small batch producer is not yet able to sell directly to consumers because of local alcohol laws, but that won’t stop visitors from sampling the flavors at local bars and restaurants.
While there are a number of retail shops in Sumter County, The Maze is a unique space, offering individual booths to vendors selling all ranges of antiques, gifts, and home decor. It serves as a small business incubator, allowing owners to build up a customer base for their products before moving into their own individual shops. Shoppers will find three stories of locally made jewelry, well-known brands of candles, and quirky pieces connected to the area.
The burgeoning glassblowing industry in Americus was aided by the opening of Mobile Glassblowing Studios, a company that creates portable furnaces for amateur and professional glass blowers alike. Owners Phil Vinson and Chuck Wells saw a need for something less permanent and opened up the industry to an entirely new base. Their studio lets you see demonstrations, shop for your own furnace, or purchase a blown glass item.
Downtown Americus may seem an unlikely place for an organic foods and products store, but it’s all because of one woman: Kat Mournighan. When her son Sean was diagnosed with autism, she started to research his food sensitivities and allergies. That soon led to a co-op service where locals could purchase items from her before transitioning into a brick-and-mortar store. Center Stage Market now showcases products from local organic farmers and small businesses.
The Windsor Hotel has been the crown jewel of Americus since its opening in 1892, but there was a time when its future was uncertain. After shuttering its doors in the 1970s, a hopeful group of locals sought to see it open again. The Windsor Hotel was donated to the city of Americus in 1978 by the Howard Dayton family of Florida and returned to its former glory in 1991. It’s now run by a local family under the Best Western umbrella, but retains all its charm. It also has rooms where notable names like President Carter and Al Capone have slept.