AEDC, Little Rock Chamber Schedules Bus Tour To Visit Minority-Owned Businesses

The Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the “Rock City Bus Tour” on Thursday as part of the 2014 Minority Business Enterprise Development week, sponsored by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC).

The free bus tour will last from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., and include visits to the several minority-owned businesses in Central Arkansas, including the Midtown McDonald’s, the Arkansas Pediatric Dentistry, Shorter College, G & S Insulating and New Tyler Barber College. A reception will be held following the bus tour at the Chamber headquarters in downtown Little Rock, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Carmen Parks, manager of the Little Rock Chamber’s minority and business diversity, said The Midtown McDonald’s at 104 S. University Avenue is only one of 5 “Tribute” restaurants built in the U.S. and features the latest McDonald’s innovations. “That is a big deal,” she said.

The reception following the tour will also feature several business booths with information on minority-owned Chamber business members in Central Arkansas, and provide other chamber members the opportunity to network with these business leaders, Parks said.

“This will be an opportunity for people in the community to get to know the people who run these success businesses,” she said. To take part in the bus tour, Parks said interested participants should RSVP the Chamber with a name and contact information.

Parks said the Little Rock Chamber in coordination with AEDC has scheduled a number of other activities this week to recognize minority-owned businesses in Arkansas, including the chamber’s weekly One Million Cups event on Wednesday that highlights startups and entrepreneurial ventures in Arkansas.