The New Castle County Chamber of Commerce announced that Hal Real, founder & president of Real Entertainment Group, Inc./World Cafe Live, will be the recipient of its 2016 David J. Freschman Entrepreneur of the Year award.
The award will be presented at the Chamber’s annual Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, May 4th.
Real is a seasoned entrepreneur with a passion for new ideas and a history of transforming those ideas into successful businesses, a release stated.
He formed Real Entertainment Group, Inc. in order to “radically change the landscape for contemporary music audiences and artists.”
In October 2004, Real delivered the first installment of that promise by opening World Cafe Live, a trailblazing live music venue, restaurant and events complex located in Philadelphia.
In 2011, World Cafe Live opened its second venue at The Queen Theatre on Market Street in Wilmington. Enormously successful, World Cafe Live at The Queen has served as a critical catalyst for the revitalization of the historic Market Street corridor in the heart of downtown Wilmington.
According to Chamber President, Mark Kleinschmidt, “Hal Real took a huge entrepreneurial gamble by opening a venue in a run-down old theater on lower Market Street. That gamble paid off, not only for his business, but for the City of Wilmington. The entrepreneurial spirit now pervades the Market Street corridor and Hal deserves tremendous credit for that.”
Named for the late David J. Freschman, the Chamber’s annual Entrepreneur of the Year award recognizes a CEO or Business Owner who has put everything on the line in order to translate an idea into a viable, sustainable enterprise.
Freschman was a venture capitalist and champion of start-up businesses as the founder of the Delaware Innovation Fund and organizer of Early Stage East, a venture capital fair held in Wilmington for many years.
Freschman passed away last year.
