Downtown Clearwater Business Owner Honored with Award

Lina Teixeira, owner of Galleria Teixeira in downtown Clearwater, was recently recognized by Creative Loafing for her dedication and passion for downtown Clearwater.

Post Date:10/31/2017 2:43 PM

Lina Teixeira, owner of Galleria Teixeira in downtown Clearwater, was recently recognized by Creative Loafing for her dedication and passion for downtown Clearwater.

The local alternative weekly awarded Teixeira the Creative Loafing Critic’s Award for Best New Downtown Clearwater Crusader at the Creative Loafing Critic’s Awards held at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg last month.

“I’m incredibly appreciative,” Teixeira said. “To be recognized for my passion for downtown Clearwater is special.”

Teixeira, who grew up in Montreal, Canada, with Portuguese parents, has been a success story for downtown Clearwater since she opened her business on Cleveland Street more than three years ago. She designs and makes wearable clothes and art from paper, recyclables, medical supplies, garbage bags and more. Her clothing line of wearable art has attracted local, national and international attention and interest.

Teixeira is applying her business success, passion and tenacity into downtown Clearwater.

She is president of the Downtown Clearwater Merchants Association, advisory board member of the Clearwater Development Partnership and has been recently elected to Clearwater’s Downtown Development Board.

Not only does she own a business in downtown Clearwater, but she also owns a condominium in downtown Clearwater.

“Downtown Clearwater to me is my future,” Teixeira said. “I need to be a part of downtown’s future. I want it to be vibrant, eclectic and diverse.”

City of Clearwater staff admire her hard word and commitment.

“Lina’s passion about downtown Clearwater is a breath of fresh air,” said Anne Fogarty-France, downtown manager for the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency. “She has brought a new energy to the Downtown Clearwater Merchant’s Association and created a core team to coordinate events that bring more visibility to the downtown. We are excited that she has been named the Best New Downtown Clearwater Crusader.”

Teixeira said she’s committed and encouraged for downtown Clearwater’s future and can see positive change in the few years her business has been in downtown Clearwater.

“We have to keep looking at the end game,” Teixeira said.

For information, contact Anne Fogarty-France, the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency downtown manager, at (727) 562-4044 or anne.fogarty-france@myclearwater.com.