Business Friendly; Lifestyle Fun

In June, Greater Hall County Chamber officials took part in not one, but two kagami biraki ceremonies – traditional Japanese sake barrel openings – as Kubota Manufacturing of America opened its new $190 million plant and Mimaki USA opened its new corporate office in Flowery Branch. It was a ritual that marks a new beginning – and it reflected the county’s broad appeal.

Firms from Korea, Japan, the Czech Republic and other nations have joined or expanded in the area, adding to more than 60 other international subsidiaries, says Greater Hall County Chamber President and CEO Tim Evans.

For Mimaki USA, a Japanese manufacturer of large format printers and 3-D printers, the location meets the needs of employees as well as the business. By placing its North American headquarters in Flowery Branch, the company was able to consolidate sites that were previously split between Buford and Suwanee, says Ken VanHorn, senior vice president. Mimaki USA currently employs more than 160 in the United States and Canada.

“We looked at where the majority of our employees were currently living or might be planning to move to,” he says. “There’s a significant amount of growth in the Gainesville/Flowery Branch/Hall County area.” He notes that it is both family and business friendly.

Mimaki USA will benefit from Georgia’s newest inland port, known as the Blue Ridge Connector, which provides a direct train link to and from the Port of Savannah. “There’s an ease of getting things from the port to our inventory much quicker and there’s an ease of getting things from our warehouse to customers across North America. So that was a huge consideration,” VanHorn says.

Another plus is Lanier Technical College. “It means there’s a promising talent pool of highly qualified individuals with both technical and administrative skills,” he says. “This gives us the option to work locally with area educators to develop programs for Mimaki and/or our industry partners.”

Other employers have been attracted by the same assets. King’s Hawaiian chose Oakwood in Hall County for its East Coast baking facility in 2010, and in July, the company announced the addition of a new production line and a $54 million expansion.

“We are putting in a new line for our snacking platform,” says Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer Joe Leonardo.

New products are expected to be rolling off the line by the second quarter of 2026. By then, King’s Hawaiian will employ around 935 people in Oakwood.

Leonardo describes Georgia QuickStart as “indispensable” in the company’s growth and training process. The state’s workforce training program has been held up as an example for other states to follow.

“People flock to Hall County for the quality of life, the strong job market and the low cost of living,” he says. “This is the best community I have ever worked in, in terms of trying to help businesses grow.”

That quality is being recognized. The Milken Institute named Gainesville the nation’s top small metropolitan area in its Best Performing Cities index this year.

“We’ve been in their top 10 since 2016,” Evans says. “This year we made the No. 1 spot.”

The Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce plays a role in creating the favorable business climate that earned that ranking; Melissa Tymchuk, incoming chamber chair wrote in an email, “The chamber excels in its ability to connect people within a community that is fast-growing yet still close-knit.”

The Education Connection

“Hall County is a huge success story of how a university and a community can do so many different things together,” says Michael Shannon, president of the University of North Georgia. “We’re very integrated with the chamber. They’re trying to inspire people to want to do business here, and we offer the strong education component to that.”

He points to a number of local industries already in the area, where UNG students are interning – many of whom will return to those companies upon graduation. That includes the Northeast Georgia Health System. “We do so much with them to build their workforce, and they have been an incredibly strong and generous part of our nursing program,” he says.

The school systems are another partner. UNG sends three faculty members to teach at Ivester Early College, a Hall County school that offers dual enrollment classes to students from around the county.

“Not only are we serving their students, we are helping their teachers grow their credentials. A lot of them are with us in the graduate level, working on specialist programs and doctoral programs,” he says.

Brenau University is also working to fill the area’s need for teachers. This spring, the university renamed its education school the Carole Ann Daniel College of education after receiving a gift from the Carroll E. Daniel Family Foundation, named in honor of her late husband. The education school is Brenau’s second-largest college, with nearly 600 students enrolled in its undergraduate and graduate school.

The funds will be used to strengthen the overall program, including an upgrade in facilities.

“The shortage of qualified teachers continues to be an issue in local schools and across the state,” Brenau President David L. Barnett wrote in an email. “Through these partnerships, Brenau can help increase the number of state-certified classroom teachers by providing educational opportunities for those already working in local schools.”

Lanier Technical College is another vital link between businesses, community and healthcare.

“We’re blessed to have such great partnerships with our local businesses, industries and the hospital system,” Tim McDonald, president of the college, says. “We could not do what we do without their support.”

He adds that not only does the college continue to see great growth in enrollment in all areas, including healthcare, transportation, manufacturing and public services, but job placement rate of its graduates continues to be about 95% in field.

“We have expanded our partnership with Hall County schools in the dual enrollment program,” he adds. “The area [of] the greatest expansion is with their Lanier College and Career Academy.”

The Academy serves students from around the county with classes led by Lanier Tech instructors. “We’ve been able to grow our welding enrollment, and for the first time ever, we’re teaching auto collision and diesel technology at the high school level,” McDonald says.

The college has expanded its industrial electricity and industrial systems programs into the dual enrollment program. “Students can graduate high school, and they have the foundational knowledge and skills to go straight into robotics and automation,” McDonald says.

On the Lanier Tech campus, a new $1.9 million instructional building adjacent to the Commercial Driver’s License training range is in the design phase, with construction estimated to begin in 2026.

“It’ll be much more efficient getting our students from navigating classwork to out on the range,” he says. “Instructors can be in the middle of class then step outside and go over parts of the tractor.”

This year, McDonald is also serving as the chair of the Greater Hall County Chamber of Commerce. He says he wants to focus on improving the community through purposeful collaborations.

“2025 marks the 20th year of the extremely successful Vision 2030 initiative,” he wrote in an email. “The chamber executive board will begin visioning the next long range community enrichment plan, the core of which will include continued robust economic development, preserving green space, strengthening communities, and efficient mobility.”

Healthy Living

Quality of life is one of the reasons that companies come to the area. “The nearby mountains and vibrant downtown Gainesville provide a great lifestyle for the employees and executives,” says County Commission Chair David Gibbs. “We have a low cost of living, excellent healthcare and top-ranked schools.”

The Northeast Georgia Health System serves Gainesville/Hall County and the surrounding region with five hospitals, numerous outpatient locations and 1,500 medical staff members representing more than 60 specialties. It employs around 12,000 people in all and contributed more than $7.4 billion in economic impact in 2023. That same year, the Habersham County location, with its more than $117 million estimated economic impact, joined the system.

In February, the Gainesville hospital opened its new Green Tower. The 11-story, 927,000-square-foot tower contains one of Georgia’s six Level 1 Trauma Centers, as well as services for the Georgia Heart Institute. A helipad is on the roof of the new building, providing quick access to the hospital’s emergency department or operating rooms.

NGHS welcomed Dr. Matt Hanley as its new president and CEO in April, following the retirement of Carol Burrell, who led the system for 14 years.

“I stepped into an enviable situation that many CEOs would love to have – a thriving health system in a growing market … I’ve spent these early months on the job learning as much as possible and keeping the momentum,” he wrote in an email. “As we look to the future … we will continue building, performing, transforming and optimizing.”

Building a ‘Happening’ Place

Beyond business hours, Hall County thrives as a destination. “Our downtown continues to be on fire,” says Gainesville Mayor Sam Couvillon. “It’s very vibrant.”

Restaurants and entertainment venues have brought people to the town square and made it a happening place. Local tourism brought in $22 million in economic impact. The city has seen record attendance at its First Friday, Blue Sky concerts and holiday events.

“In addition, we’re going to be attracting another downtown hotel,” Couvillon adds. “The Marriott has been a home run.”

Capstone Property Group plans to build a Tempo by Hilton downtown just off the square. It will have about 130 rooms and a rooftop bar, says Jeff Payne, Capstone chair.

Capstone has also started construction on a new Residence Inn, a 99-room extended stay hotel off Limestone Parkway. The primary market for it is the hospital, Lake Lanier Olympic Park, the Blue Ridge Connector and the new J. Melvin Cooper Youth Athletic Complex, nicknamed the Coop, which attracts travel baseball and softball teams.

In addition to the hotels, Capstone is finishing its new 5-story downtown office building. Although it is not completely rented out, Payne says there is more interest than available space.

About 12 miles southwest of Gainesville is Flowery Branch, which has a picturesque downtown with restaurants, shops and a courtyard that hosts a farmers market around 40 times a year. Some housing developments not far from downtown are in development or have recently been completed.

“We’re growing like gangbusters,” says Mayor Ed Asbridge.

The city will soon have a new pickleball venue with 18 indoor courts and a dozen outdoors. It is expected to bring in tournaments and visitors.

There’s so much excitement that Flowery Branch now has a Department of Fun.

“The mayor gets a lot of credit, but these folks who work in the city do all the work,” Asbridge says. “Our Department of Fun is known all over the state.”

Renee Carden is the Director of Fun, formerly the community relations director. “That’s just kind of boring,” she says of the old title. “It’s so much more than just events. We’ve got a really cool vibe in town.”

Carden says the town’s amphitheater has concerts scheduled throughout the spring, summer and fall.

Tourism Pays Off

Lake Lanier is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ most visited lake with over 12 million annual visitors, says Stacey Dickson, president and CEO of Discover Lake Lanier.

Lanier Islands Resort, known to many by its former name of Lake Lanier Islands, has 1,200 acres of lakefront property and an estimated economic impact of more than $100 million.

“We have everything from great food, a top-in-the state golf course, luxury accommodations, tons of wildlife and a great pool,” says Matthew Bowling, resort president, and grandson of CEO Virgil R. Williams, whose family purchased the lease rights to the lakeside resort from the state in 2005. Other amenities include a water park, miniature golf, a marina and an RV resort.

The resort recently opened Game Changer, an indoor entertainment venue with everything from axe-throwing to duckpin bowling. It has a virtual sports suite with more than 30 virtual games, arcade games and adult gaming machines.

This year the resort added a new hilltop venue, the Lakeside Chapel and Gardens, to its variety of lakeside wedding venues.

Another huge draw for the county is Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, a NASCAR property located in Braselton. The track averages about 300 days of events ranging from large spectator events to a driving club that invites people to take a spin on the track themselves.

The Motul Petit Le Mans is its largest event, a four-day race that culminates with the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, a 10-hour race that finishes under the stars.

Kelsi Miller, director of public relations and marketing, says it typically attracts upwards of 100,000 over the course of the event. “It’s our keynote event for sure, kind of our Super Bowl,” she adds.

New this year, Formula DRIFT partnered with GRIDLIFE to create the Road Atlanta Special Stage event, a super weekend of drifting, the raceway’s second largest event of the year.

The Georgia Tech Center for Economic Development and Research conducted an economic impact study this year and found that the facility creates about $80 million worth of economic impact in the state, $60 million of that in Hall County.

“Hall County isn’t just growing, it’s thriving,” says County Commission Chair Gibbs. “People flock to Hall County for several reasons that blend economic opportunity, quality of life and a strong location, as well as a strong job market, thriving industries, desirable living.”

Local Flavor

Where Kids Explore

Squirt, a Red-eared Slider turtle greets visitors to the Interactive Neighborhood for Kids (INK for short.) While many museums have a robotic or interactive mascot to greet kids, this one prides itself on limiting technology. It’s about letting children experience the real world.

Founded by Sheri Hooper in 2002, the museum has just opened at its new forever home in Oakwood.

“She just wanted to create a space for kids to use their imagination while playing,” says Cortney Murray, associate director of the museum.

Executive Director Charles Bramwell says the 40,000-square-foot building was financed with $6.5 million in bonds on Oakwood city property in a lease-to-own arrangement. “No public money went into it,” he says. The city has a community center in a portion of the building, and the expectation is that eventually the museum will purchase that part and expand into it.

Exhibits include a fire truck, a police car and an ambulance. Kids don the equipment and climb into the vehicles, even hit the sirens. There’s a dock with a boat to sit in – after putting on a life preserver.

The dentist office has an authentic chair and some accessories, as does the beauty salon. An artificial cow lets kids experience milking. Sponsors like Publix have set up a grocery store with instructions on bagging, so kids can be either customers or employees. Pinnacle Bank has a display with an ATM, and a diner has been set up by a local café called Loretta’s. The Northeast Georgia Health System created a hospital display, with – instead of a CAT scan – a kitten scanner. There’s a small airplane and also an air traffic control tower in which kids can speak via intercom directly to the pilot of the plane.

The museum has an art and pottery room and a room with musical instruments that kids can touch, hold and play.

INK encourages families to explore together. “We are a hands-on museum, allowing the children to freely explore and learn while playing,” says Associate Director Jenny Staley. “We do have a few rules … such as using walking feet, gentle hands … picking up after playing … and of course, to have fun!”

Staff and volunteers rotate throughout the day and make sure guests are playing safely. Large field trips are rotated on a schedule, so teachers and staff can see all the areas for the same amount of time.

Memberships and event rentals are available. There are four birthday party rooms. The museum is recognized by the IRS as a nonprofit, allowing charitable donations. It is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For information, see inkfun.org.