Downtown Marketplace

Photo by David W. Shelton

Well, I’ll tell you what I know about my business, which isn’t much—as I detest the “business” of owning a business.  We’re a little off from last year, but not as much at national numbers reflect.  I know that everyone has said Clarksville is enjoying a bubble of protection from the failing economy and I’ll leave it to the arm chair analysts to decipher all of the numbers.  What I’m interested in is how business “feels” this year.

I don’t think everything regarding business can be measured on a balance sheet (my bookkeeper loves me . . .).  For those of us located in Historic Downtown Clarksville, I can tell you it feels pretty darn good.  We may not be seeing the same numbers as last year, but we are seeing a lot of collateral stuff which I find encouraging.  In the past year we’ve enjoyed a lot of attention to detail in the downtown area.

The renovation of the formerly dreary Legion Street into Strawberry Alley has been a huge boon for our downtown.  In less than a year we’ve seen five new businesses open on this beautiful venue.  The activities the city has added—Jammin’ in the Alley and the Downtown Market—only enhance everything our downtown has to offer.  There have been other improvements to the downtown area, mostly private investment, which also elevate the standard.  Fortunately, we have local officials, the Mayor and council members, as well as supporting organizations like the Downtown District Partnership, who recognize the value of the revitalization of our Historic Downtown.  Perhaps our next goal should be incentives for businesses and individuals to improve and invest in the area.

It’s not all roses and sunshine, however, as there are unique challenges we downtown business owners face.  Most of our issues are with regard to public perception regarding downtown, but who doesn’t face that issue.  Part of our job is to promote our business, which means promoting our location, as well.

There is the misconception that our boutique-style shops and our independent restaurants are more expensive than our big chain competitors.  The fact is we’re not able to compete with the purchasing power of those chains, therefore you won’t find the same products.  What you will find are special, unique inventories, offered to you at the best price possible.  I like to tell folks, when you walk into Hodgepodge you’ll likely leave with the items you wanted and little else—no videos, candy bars or other sneaky add-on sales around our registers.  Plus, the personal shopping or dining experience you have at one of our locally-owned shops or restaurants will far outweigh the impersonal, you’re-on-your-own experience of the chains.

Then, there’s the parking—the misconceptions are numerous.  The complaints range from there’s not enough parking to we need to do away with the meters, then—my favorite—you have to walk too far to get to the businesses.  The fact is there is plenty of parking and you may have to walk; but, for example, if you were to park on Third Street, near Commerce and walk to The Roxy on Franklin Street, you still wouldn’t have walked the distance you would from one end of Govenors Square Mall to the other.  With regard to the meters, they’re necessary.  If they weren’t there, the premium parking spaces would be occupied all day, every day, by the downtown employees. Plus, there’s added safety in having the staff of the parking authority walking around keeping an eye on your vehicles.

Which brings me to the misconception regarding crime in the downtown area.  Guess what?  Wrong!  In regular reports by the Clarksville Police Department, we are assured crime is down in downtown.  It’s well-lit, well-patrolled and safe.

As I said, all business owners face unique challenges, but some are worth the effort.  Locating my businesses downtown was non-negotiable—we knew it was the ideal location for Hodgepodge and ARTifacts and we were aware of the challenges. I’ve decided to take the approach of attempting to inform and educate, then I allow our historic location, combined with our unique inventories, menus and services debunk the misconceptions.