Editor’s Note: Mainstreet’s 2025 year-end recap includes the area’s top news stories, top feature stories, top high school sports events, our most-viewed website stories and our Community Impact Report.
Following our theme of top 2025 stories, today’s list features Mainstreet’s most-viewed stories, as recorded by Google Analytics.
These stories differ from our top local news stories that we selected for their community impact. These individual articles received high readership over a short period of time and were either breaking news and/or stories that went viral on social media.
This is the fifth in our year-in-review articles, which include Mainstreet’s top feature stories, top high school sports events and our Community Impact Report.
Most-read stories of 2025
1. Blindsided: Iconic Gainesville businesses included in 49 ADA lawsuits (Dec. 15)
Mainstreet broke news of over 40 lawsuits filed against local businesses because of ADA compliance issues concerning websites.
The lawsuits all came from the same resident and were filed without giving notice of violations. Business owners called the lawsuits predatory and sought help from elected officials, but the attorney who filed the suits defended them as necessary to force ADA compliance.
In a follow-up story, Mainstreet spoke with a local business owner who quickly aimed to fix her site and a board member for the Center for Independent Living of North Central Florida.
2. Hitchcock’s Markets to sell all 10 locations (Oct. 7)
Hitchcock’s Markets, a staple grocer and pharmacy for rural communities since Bob Hitchcock founded it in 1945 on Main Street in Alachua, grew the company into 12 stores across North Central Florida before selling the brand to Haug Enterprises in 2008, who sold it to the Alvarez family in 2019. The store announced it would sell all 10 of its locations across North Central Florida to various grocery chains
3. 6 Gainesville restaurant closings in 2025 (June 20)
Six Gainesville restaurants that closed in 2025 included the Applebee’s Bar and Grill (7441 W. Newberry Rd.), Bahama Breeze Island Grille (3989 Plaza Blvd.), Ichiban Sushi (4928 NW 39th Ave.), Subway (1805 SW 13th St.), TGI Friday’s (3075 Clark Butler Blvd.) and Wahoo Seafood Grill (3833 NW 97th Blvd.).
Since this story ran in June, PDQ Chicken announced it was rebranding into Saucy! by KFC in September, Ballyhoo Grill (3700 W. University Ave.) closed following an eviction in October and Gator’s Dockside (3842 Newberry Rd.) in Gainesville closed its doors on Dec. 1.
4. Union County fires Andrew Thomas from football coach and athletic director roles (May 29)
Andrew Thomas, who led the Union County (Lake Butler) football team to the FHSAA Rural State Semifinals in 2024, was relieved of his duties as head football coach and athletics director of the Tigers. Thomas, who began coaching at UCHS in 2020, led the Tigers to four straight playoff appearances and finished with a 46-14 record.
After making a public comment following the firing, Thomas was eventually hired by Dixie County High School in December.
5. FDLE refers 3 Santa Fe High School administrators for felony charges (July 17)
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) referred three Santa Fe High School administrators to the Office of the State Attorney for potential criminal prosecution, more than a year after news broke of an investigation at the school when SFHS baseball coach and school media specialist Travis Yeckring was accused of sexually harassing a student.
Charges were also brought against the School Board of Alachua County and the city of Alachua, but charges against the school board and city were dismissed.
U.S. Bank National Association filed a foreclosure complaint against Oaks Mall and the property was moved into receivership.
6. Lender files foreclosure complaint against Oaks Mall, $80M owed (Feb. 10)
U.S. Bank National Association filed a foreclosure complaint against Oaks Mall in December 2024 and asked the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court to move the property into receivership. The December filing said Oaks Mall still owed $78 million in principal payments, along with $1.4 million in interest.
Visitor traffic at The Oaks Mall surpassed 2024 levels for June through September 2025 as new management worked to boost the business following the foreclosure complaint.
7. Alachua County jury awards $15 million in sheriff discrimination case (Feb. 7)
An Alachua County jury awarded Sgt. Kevin Davis $15 million in damages on Feb. 7 in a discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO). The six-member jury found that the ACSO under former Sheriff Clovis Watson Jr. failed to promote Davis, who is white, because of his race and then retaliated against Davis for filing formal complaints about the discrimination.
The case is on appeal before the Florida First District Court of Appeal, with an active motion by the ACSO to move the case to mediation.
8. Celebration Pointe owner files for personal bankruptcy as lawsuits mount (Oct. 21)
In 2024, three corporate entities that comprise Celebration Pointe filed for bankruptcy. The developments’ leaders said it would be a quick restructuring of debt, and while some question marks remained, the curtain opened this year.
In June, long-time partner Patricia Shively, who had invested over $100 million into Celebration Pointe, sued Svein Dyrkolbotn, his company Viking Companies and her financial advising firm.
She claimed they had conspired against her and defrauded her of millions. Shively said instead of looking out for her money, her financial adviser colluded with Dyrkolbotn.
A couple of months later, Alachua County eliminated its contract with Viking Companies to manage its sports and event center located at Celebration Pointe and built in partnership with Dyrkolbotn.
In October, Dyrkolbotn filed for personal bankruptcy as several bankruptcy cases proceeded against the Celebration Pointe entities and Viking Companies.
9. UF finalizes $37M contact for 3,180 acres planned for conservation, golf course (May 29)
The University of Florida finalized its $37 million purchase of 2,600 acres just west of Gainesville in March, taking the next step toward a potential 36-hole golf course.
UF purchased the acres all on the west side of Parker Road, with plans for UF/IFAS to manage it. As a result of the purchase, the Lee family, which owned the land, donated another 580-acre parcel on the eastern side of the road for the golf course, clubhouse and other related development.
The 580 acres, located east of SW 122nd Street (Parker Road), was included in a special area study (SAS) on the 4,000-acre Hickory Sink property, also known as the “Lee property.” The study was approved unanimously by the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) in November 2023.
Community members flocked to Myra A. Terwilliger Elementary School in Gainesville on Dec. 9 for a workshop on the University of Florida Golf Institutional Special Area Plan, which involves rezoning 580 acres of land for what would become a new, 18-hole university golf course west of Gainesville.
10. Butler Plaza expands with 10 new stores (Nov. 3)
In its 50th year of business, Butler Plaza continues to grow, with 10 new shops and restaurants that are coming to or have recently opened. The businesses included Arnold Palmer’s CenterCup, Bank of America, Bonchon, Buckle, lululemon, Mochinut, Pepper’s Mexican Grill & Cantina, Texas de Brazil and Victoria’s Secret and PINK.
11. “Catastrophic”: Alachua responds as 75% of planning staff resigns (Feb. 12)
In the space of about two weeks, three members of the city of Alachua’s planning department submitted their resignations, leaving the city with one planner to handle its projects.
It was the first of multiple notable items in the city of Alachua, which included the resignation of its city manager, accusations from a former planner of undue influence on the city’s work, split votes to investigate the matter and resident complaints (and legal threats) over public records requests.
The city is also in the middle of reviewing the controversial Tara April development, with Alachua County claiming affected party status and positioned to sue.
12. 6 new restaurants opening in Alachua County (June 3)
Alachua County’s melting pot of flavors from across the globe continued to grow in 2025 as the following restaurants made their way to the area: Jalisco Town Moder Mexican Grille (4401 NW 25th Pl., Gainesville), Zeezenia Farm & Sofra (28143 SW 46th Ave., Newberry), The Ice Cream Vault (14841 Main St., Alachua), Nirvana Indian Grocery Store and Café (4000 Newberry Rd., Gainesville), Mi Apá Latin Café (14829 NW 157th Ln., Alachua), and Sochao Café (4928 NW 39th Ave., Gainesville).
13. All area schools to close Wednesday for winter storm (Jan. 21)
All North Florida school districts announced they will close on Jan. 22 due to a winter storm watch forecasting freezing rain to hit the area. While the storm dumped historic amounts of snow in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and into the Florida panhandle, it stopped just near Suwannee County and did not hit North Florida, as predicted.
14. Gainesville influencer discharged from Shands after rattlesnake bite (Jan. 7)
On Dec. 18, 2024, a helicopter flew 25-year-old Gainesville social media influencer David Humphlett to UF Health Shands Hospital after a four-foot eastern diamondback rattlesnake sank its fangs into his right shin. Sixteen days and 88 vials of antivenom later—tied for the record of most vials ever used—doctors cleared Humphlett to go home on Jan. 2.
15. Gainesville’s PDQ Chicken to close, rebrand as Saucy! by KFC (Sept. 18)
In September, Gainesville’s sole PDQ Chicken (3403 W. University Ave.) in Westgate Shopping Plaza announced that, after 11 years, it would close in the late fall and rebrand and reopen as Saucy! by Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC).
16. Residents turn to action after ADA lawsuit against Gainesville businesses (Dec. 20)
The follow-up story to our top most-viewed story of 2025, an article about 49 businesses sued by Gainesville’s Makeda Evans for having websites that failed to properly interact with her screen-to-text device, Mainstreet spoke with a local business owner who quickly aimed to fix her site and a board member for the Center for Independent Living of North Central Florida.
17. FDLE investigating crimes against minors during raid on Alachua Today, Boukari Law (May 3)
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) raided Alachua Today and Boukari Law in July 2024 because of an investigation into former city manager Adam Boukari, according to a March 2025 memorandum from the Florida Office of the Inspector General.
This memorandum was filed as an exhibit to a motion in an unrelated civil case, and the exhibit notes that the investigation arose from allegations of sexual acts against juvenile boys.
Alachua Today filed a lawsuit against Mainstreet to prevent publication of the story, but an Alachua County judge threw out the lawsuit.
18. Gamers Escape opens in Gainesville on Saturday (July 31)
Gamers Escape, a new entertainment venue in Gainesville featuring four unique gaming experiences under one roof, opened on Aug. 2. The story announcing the opening went viral and garnered over 9,500 pageviews.
19. A look at Alachua County’s top 10 athletes of all time (Jan. 8)
Mainstreet started 2025 with stories celebrating Alachua County’s 200-year anniversary. Mainstreet Sports Director Mike Ridaught reached out to former area sports writers to assemble a list of the county’s top athletes of all time. Among the athletes listed were Gainesville High School and University of Florida football player Dale Van Sickle, Gainesville High School football player Edie McAshan III, Buchholz High School and University of Florida basketball player Vernon Maxwell, Hawthorne High School and University of Florida football/basketball player Cornelius Ingram and Oak Hall track runner Tamari Davis, among others.
20. National Weather Service issues winter storm watch for Tuesday night (Jan. 20)
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch for Jan. 21 to Jan. 22 that was projected to bring freezing rain to Northern Florida.
The forecast called for heavy mixed precipitation with a total ice accumulation of up to one-tenth of an inch expected, with up to a quarter of an inch possible, and the counties to be affected included Alachua, Suwannee, Union, Bradford, Gilchrist and Columbia.