At Sweet Pete’s downtown, kids marched up the stairs Monday to learn about candy making in the repurposed historical building, once the Seminole Club.
Across the hall, Gov. Rick Scott was awarding the owners of the business, Sweet Pete himself and wife Allison Behringer, with Governor's Business Ambassador medals for hiring 75 new employees over the last year after relocating downtown.
Pete Behringer says Scott’s award is an honor.
“We are planning on growing,” Behringer said. “We just recently opened a store in Illinois in the Chicago area, and so we are working on just growing more Internet sales and also our business here in Jacksonville.”
As part of his $1 billion tax cut proposal, Scott wants to permanently do away with a tax on manufacturing equipment. He says that could help others expand too.
“How many people like Pete here and Allison don’t want to build a bigger business?” Scott asked. “They all do it. We put more money in their pockets, they’re going to build a bigger business and expand all across our state.”
Scott says he’s confident he’ll be able to get the tax cuts through the Legislature, but some powerful lawmakers have expressed doubts about the feasibility.
