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Stores, restaurants ready to welcome race fans for Daytona 500

Published  February 15, 2019 10:24am EST
Good Day
FOX 35 Orlando

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Around two dozen stores are now open at One Daytona in time for the Daytona 500.

Last year, the entertainment center only had about a dozen stores open, but now there are double the restaurants and stores. 

A new Marriott boutique hotel called The Daytona Autograph Collection will also open in April.

“We’re definitely creating a community epicenter here at One Daytona,” said Roxanne Ribakoff, the general manager of One Daytona. 

“It’s a place where a family can come, have a family date night, or even mom and dad can just break away from the little ones for a little bit.”

Gallery 500 opened in January and features artwork and jewelry from 11 local and regional artists. 

“All of the artists here are emerging,” said Gallery 500 Manager Jessica Kennedy. “The goal is to really support the local arts in central and coastal Florida areas.”

The gallery also features artwork by internationally-known racing artists like Bill Patterson. 

“He often paints live on the tracks during races,” Kennedy said. “There’s a lot of energy in these pieces. How he makes them is with a pallet knife.”

A 35,000-square-foot game room called GameTime also opened in late 2018 boasting more than 100 games, a 12-lane bowling alley and a bar.

“We have the world’s largest Pac-Man and I’m pretty sure the world’s largest Space Invaders,” said Tom Daly with GameTime. 

Daly said there is a mixture of old and new games to satisfy everyone. 

People can also drive like they’re on the Daytona speedway with a driving game.

Oklahoma Joe’s Barbeque at One Daytona opened in October 2018 and features award-winning barbeque. 

The Florida location is the restaurant’s first franchise location.

The 6,500-square-foot location features barbeque from Oklahoma pitmaster Joe Davidson. 

He has won more than 300 championship titles worldwide, including the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational BBQ, which is considered the Super Bowl of barbeque competitions.