In 1987, Congress established March as Women’s History Month to honor the successes and sacrifices of U.S. women. March 8 was officially recognized as International Women’s Day by the United Nations, which developed into a Women’s History Week in the U.S., championed by President Jimmy Carter in 1980.
Gainesville has no shortage of local businesses, and one way tocelebrate Women’s History Month is by supporting the women in Gainesville who are contributing to the community by running their own establishments.
Of the officially recorded 1,383 women-owned businesses in Gainesville, here are four to support
Coterie Market
The idea of opening a multi-purpose community space came to Coterie Market co-owners Kate Yeung and Braden Ramirez in 2021, after they noticed that Gainesville lacked fun date night activities.
Named after the word coterie, which means a small group of people with shared interests, Coterie Market strives to be an affordable place for Gainesville residents to sip on a drink as they participate in workshops or shop from a host of small businesses that have merchandise for sale.
Having moved from its original location in the Grove Street area in April 2025, Coterie Market has expanded to a larger location at 1025 W. University Ave. to open a cafe.
“Adding the food and drink aspect to the market and combining that with the experience of coming in for a workshop or retail really does flow well together,” Yeung said.
Located about two blocks from the University of Florida campus, the new space has attracted student clientele.
“I love coming here to buy a drink and chill,” Emery Vacha,18, said. “It’s really cute and girly inside.”
Coterie Market wants to bring a big city feel to Gainesville. Yeung makes sure to keep up with social media trends to make them accessible to people in the city. For example, the shop frequently restocks on Swedish candy, the latest internet fad.
“We have so much planned,” Yeung said. “I’m just excited to share our business with everyone in Gainesville, especially during Women’s Month.”
Flashbacks Recycled Fashions
Opened by a group of UF alumni in 1986, Flashbacks was one of Gainesville’s first curated second-hand retail stores. Rather than accepting donations like regular thrift stores, Flashbacks buys articles of clothing from anyone who comes to its buying room, eventually selling those clothes for elevated yet affordable prices.
“It’s kind of that step in between retail and thrift that offers people a place beside the internet to shop sustainably,” said Tatum Nichtberger, who officially inherited the family business in October 2025 after her father, Steve Nichtberger, retired.
Over time, Flashbacks has become a community establishment, developing a reputation for participating in events and fundraisers. Recently, the store worked on a raffle with the Alachua County Crisis Center.
“At this point, it has a mind of its own,” she said. “The community is amazing in their support for us, and we try to do things to give back.”
Since the beginning of the ownership transition process, Flashbacks has been hectic all around. Tatum Nichtberger is preparing the store for her maternity leave, but she said that she has no concern about everything functioning in her absence.
“I feel so incredibly lucky to get to continue the family business and continue connecting with all of you,” she said on Instagram @flashbacksrecycledfashions. “This wouldn’t be possible without the support of each and every one of you, and I cannot thank you enough.”
How Bazar
How Bazar is known in the community for organizing workshops, Big: Culture & Arts Festival and the Bazar à la Carte night markets, but it is also a retail space showcasing local artists and vendors.
“It’s very human, and you feel that in everything that we do,” said Laila Fakhoury, co-owner of How Bazar, who emphasized the importance of the downtown third space as a place that has changed the Gainesville community as a whole.
How Bazar’s space is worker-owned, meaning that everyone working there shared ownership.
“It’s created space for true creativity and community to grow,” she said. “It’s led to a lot of really cool projects happening in town that have changed the overall cultural scene of Gainesville.”
In April 2025, Big: Culture & Arts Festival had a $700,000 economic impact in Alachua County.
Fakhoury said that at its core, How Bazar works to harvest community in downtown Gainesville by giving people the chance to come together in an open and creative space.
SweetBerries on 5th Ave.
Sisters Jane Osmond and Janice Easton did not plan to open a Gainesville branch of their family’s restaurant from Bradenton, Florida, but 13 years ago, when their brother suggested the idea to them, they jumped at it. At the time, Osmond was working in public health and Eaton was working in environmental education, and both of them had grown tired of their careers.
A family of UF alumni, they thought it made most sense to open the second location in Gainesville.
“We knew Gainesville,” Osmond said. “We loved Gainesville. We wanted to just be part of the community and not a chain coming in, selling something without caring who our customers were or what their interests were.”
Apart from sharing a name and family ties, both SweetBerries are run separately.
As local business owners, Osmond and Easton work closely with the Gainesville community.
“We pride ourselves on being local, using some local items in our restaurant from other folks around Gainesville,” said Osmond.
The quick service restaurant’s walls are decorated with local artists’ pieces, and collaborations with other Gainesville businesses are common for SweetBerries. For example, Osmond and Easton worked with a local company to redesign the restaurant’s logo, and the Bradenton restaurant adopted it, too. They also collaborate with Brother Cookie, Artie’s Tempeh and Opus Coffee by selling their products at the restaurant.
“A lot of our customers have become like family because they come so frequently,” said Osmond. “They know us. They love our staff.”