With hearts and roses and declarations of affection everywhere, this seems like a great week for us to show a little love to Downtown Waco businesses.

Most of our shops, eateries and other businesses are small and locally owned. They are experts in what they do whether it’s fashion or falafels, plus they keep on top of overhead, staffing, taxes, et al. Marketing is often the last thing to get attention so we sit up and take notice when a business is doing that well.

We’ve been closely following the social media marketing of Downtown Waco businesses for almost five years now and we decided it’s high time we deliver a round of high fives in that area. We’ve come up with some just for fun Grackle Awards. The Grackle, because they are experts in making their presence downtown known. We’ll be doling out these awards throughout the week.

Our first honoree is Grae Apparel, a clothing/accessory/lifestyle shop at Spice Village. Grae gets our “Best use of Downtown Waco” award for the photos they post. Whether at the suspension bridge or on a rooftop, they always find the most subtle and lovely ways to use downtown as a backdrop for their models. We’ve included our favorite Grae photo here. Please check out their facebook and instagram accounts to get a real feel for what they do well.