Three Gloucester Main Street business owners have earned their Certificate in Retail Operations from the Retail Alliance Foundation’s Center for Retail Excellence. As a result, the businesses were awarded more than $25,000 in grant funding to expand their services in 2019, according to the Gloucester Main Street Preservation Trust.

“Combining incentives with education was something Retail Alliance had not done before, but because the Trust had the experience of doing the Community Business Launch program in 2015, we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to continue the mission to Launch Gloucester and bolster the businesses in our community,” said Jenny Crittenden, executive director for the Trust and a member of the Board of Directors of Retail Alliance. The Trust is a premier partner with Retail Alliance.

Graduates of the course, the first taught in Gloucester, included Crystal Burton of Sweet Tooth Café & Bakery, Terri Crowder of Northern Neck ...