Some exciting new events and restaurants headed for Monroe this year

At the award ceremony Tuesday in Monroe recognizing the 2018 successes and appreciation for the supporters, Downtown Monroe revealed some of the plans for 2019, including new developments, restaurants and some exciting new events planned for the community.

After the first public art got such great reviews, there is a new art being added to downtown Monroe.

There also are additions to Childers Park that will make it as kid-friendly as it is pet-friendly, including using some of the natural landscape! The park was home to the first annual Christmas Lights Display and children’s parade in 2018 and officials plan to expand on it each year.

And our favorite furry family members continue to get attention in 2019. An exciting new event this year will be Dock Dogs that will be set up at the site of the new town green on Madison Avenue. This will take place over the weekend of April 13 – 14, to coincide with another pet-friendly tradition in downtown Monroe – the 5K run and Paws in the Park. These events help raise fund for upgrades to the park.

Two other new events include a Children’s Book Fair on May 11 and the Monroe Flower Festival on June 15. Watch for more information on these events nearer the time.

Nothing stirs emotions, and taste buds, more in Monroe than the promise of new restaurants and in 2019 there are plenty coming. These include South on Broad, Major Humphreys, LR Burger, John’s Supermarket and The Roe, a restaurant and specialty food store that is going in at the old Mike Cash store on the corner of Broad and Spring Street. The completion of this, however, is likely to be further out than 2019 and plans for it are not yet completely formulated. Look for more information on all of this development as more details become available, including the plans for Cowork at the Metro and an exciting development by Grace Monroe at the old high school building that the church recently purchased.

There also are several developments that will be bringing new homes to the city beginning this year. Not everyone is happy about the extra traffic that is likely to bring, but it also should go a long way to helping provide those “rooftops” necessary for that elusive, long-awaited grocery store and more specialty stores and shopping options.