The LEG announced a plan to determine what downtown should be. Click here. Congratulations! I have been saying that for a long time. Here is my first post on the subject.
I just hope this does not turn into a three year $100,000 project.
If you want any help from me on this project just let me know.
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February 2nd, 2010 at 11:03 am
I agree that there needs to be a plan and a vision for the downtown area. I think a lot of money has been spent trying to draw people downtown for short-term events. The Gus Macker, while bringing energy to the town for a few weeks, probably didn’t do much for the downtown businesses, well the ones that would benefit from that type of event. I doubt there was a run on people pawning their jewelry for cash to bet on the games. Having a business not located downtown host a party during the Art Walk gave people a place to drink and promoted his restaurant but did little for the economy downtown.
I was part of discussions years ago about what to do downtown, and the consensus was that the area needed to become a place of destination – a place where people would travel from outside the area to visit. There is NOTHING downtown at this point that suggests a movement in that direction. Nice restaurants, nice shops (not antique shops), etc. would be a step in the right direction. Getting rid of the run-down empty store fronts and passing a code to force owners to rehab their buildings would be a good start.
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:51 am
Why not antique shops? If that is what the people want to come downtown for then we need antique shops. It may not be YOUR cup of tea, but we need to not dismiss ideas just because it does not appeal to some. Downtown needs to discover it’s theme.
Remember the line from “field of dreams” – “if you build it they will come”? The SID has taken the reverse course – “if you bring them they will build”. They bring crowds downtown for an evening of listening to music or whatever hoping that businesses will spring up. It’s not going to work like that.
February 2nd, 2010 at 12:02 pm
I have nothing against antique shops, but they don’t seem to be long-term occupants. They seem to go in for a year or two and then move on. If they were really a draw, they wouldn’t go out of business. I think places with lasting power are what is going to get the ball rolling. I love your idea of a brew pub. But like everything, having an idea is not enough. You need capital, someone with the knowledge how to do it. I’ve made beer in my basement for years. That doesn’t qualify me to be a brewmaster at a pub. You’d have to recruit someone from another establishment. But something like a brew pub with a good menu would certainly be a great addition to the downtown area.
February 2nd, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Since no locally owned stores carry common “necessities” he only time I visit the downtowns of central ohio cities are when the MUCH-Better Half and I are antique or junk store shopping or looking for a local dining hidden gem.
February 2nd, 2010 at 3:39 pm
R I P downtown. Take some pictures
and then bring it down nothing last forever
February 2nd, 2010 at 6:52 pm
It seems to me that antiques have fallen from favor. The look on the decorating shows is clean and simple, no clutter, and new.
February 2nd, 2010 at 7:43 pm
*Why not antique shops?*
The fact that various antique shops of a spectrum of sizes have failed would be the first clue.
February 2nd, 2010 at 7:51 pm
*They bring crowds downtown for an evening of listening to music or whatever hoping that businesses will spring up. It’s not going to work like that.*
That’s because the powers that be have never learned the difference between body count and customer count. It’s easy to take away the parking spaces from real customers and fill them with folks wanting to see a free parade or free concert, or mooch snacks on an artwalk. Heck, I saw the usual freeloaders wipe out an entire hog in 10 minutes flat (can I have a couple more sandwiches to take home?) at the downtown radio station.
Ask those people to spend 50¢ for a can of pop, tho, and see if they’re customers or just bodies.
February 2nd, 2010 at 7:55 pm
*But something like a brew pub with a good menu would certainly be a great addition to the downtown area.*
Yeah, the folks from Grinders could open it in Studio B with their profits! Oh, they’re out of business? Wonder why they didn’t succeed, since they were only a block from the nearest customer, and had no parking.