An idea to add to the initiative would be a feedback mechanism to the businesses...I know that I've heard folks bemoning "I'd go there, but they didn't *xyz*" or "I'll not go back because *abc*".
What results is the "voting with their feet", but there is typically no feedback given...nor acted on.
Only example (I'm aware) of where feedback was given and acted on is the Riverside Foods deli. It has improved enough that my family has shifted from skipping it to now using it~
Ha, I was ahead of the curve; this article was published 2 years ago, nearly to the day:
http://www.riversideinfo.org/forum/topic/new-age-town-embraces-dollar-alternative
Reading this thread has made me realize that there are quite a number of businesses in Riverside. However, I wonder if the lack of vibrancy in the CBD might, at least in part, be due to 1) the empty store fronts and 2) the lack of aesthetic appeal of some of the businesses.
Part of this may be due to the fact that a large chunk of downtown is owned by Kafka, and he is clearly not going to put any money into these buildings. But aren't there a few places that could spiff it up a bit? Maybe a new sign or new window treatments?
The empty store fronts, of course, are a separate issue.
Obviously, some of these shop owners barely make their rent. Sprucing up their joints takes cash, and if we are not providing it, where is it going to come from? (Oh yeah, that was the TIF! How about we just shop there instead!)
I suggest that we populate the CBD, spend our money there, demand good service and keep coming back.
What Kafka does to the outside of a building has not stopped places like the Dance Studio, Jem, and Basili's from doing lovley build outs and bang out business.
I think the empty store fronts will fill up when investors see the CBD occupied with people and their wallets.
Oh, and Chris! Well done!
I pitched the Village to turn the town into an art gallery by printing digital pix of masterworks from the Art Institute and having every business display one, and attracting people to come to Riverside and see them where it didn't cost anything for admission. Want to know how far that got with our hotshot EDC and the former VM? \
The rents are too high for the traffic opportunity we have. Period. You can't make a decent living if you are here, and who would enter that arena to start a new business. People buy 90 day prescriptions delivered to their door for $12. now. They don't buy prime loins at places that print shoppers. Riverside Foods knows their customers, and more and more of the older people in town are being squeezed, and the younger ones may not have their jobs and so are starting to save. The landlords are one step above slumlords. If we had deducted the money for the TIF we would be even worse off. It's simple - the cupboard is getting bare and no one wants to cut anything. Trying to get profitable businesses to come here NOW is whistling in the dark. Starbucks dropped Harlem because they are in trouble and cutting back - and that was a high traffic location. Some people better get a handle on reality... There is a longer road ahead than they seem to be able to accept.
Well, Don has spoken, so let's just take his advice and give it up.
I think, Don, that we are all aware of the state of the economy. Many of us work in fields where we see its impact every day. I understand you think you're a voice crying in the wilderness, while the rest of us are running around with blinders on, but I can assure you that the vast majority of us are aware of the economic realities of today and that our handle on reality is just as firm as yours.
There is always room for well-run businesses that provide a quality service or product at a reasonable price. The good businesses in town know this. I see no reason that a few more merchants with these values and talents couldn't succeed here.
Kim, some of the businesses I'm referring to are doing fine. It doesn't cost that much to update a sign or a window, as your examples show. I just think that an attractive outside would attract more customers.
John - what I am saying is that starting a business - a retail establishment - is tough even in good times. In times like these, where discretionary spending is declining (to put it mildly) I feel it is going to be next to impossible to attract new businesses that have the product and the wherewithal and the expertise to make it in the marketplace, to this burg. I hope I'm wrong and it becomes chock full of great joints or whatever - and I'll patronize them. But I don't ant to see the Village spend a million bucks of tax money in that quest. We've had the "if you build it they will come" years, thank you. The Village can't take any more. I just am of the opinion we should just sit tight and keep it clean and tidy (tidier?) but not launch any costly initiatives to attract losers. I say that because I think we will just not be successful NOW and end up with a depleted exchequer.
I think this is a place where we give vent to our opinions, right? Well that's mine. I was right about the VC back then but the Board saw fit to give those variances, subsidies, etc. And what have we got? Ditto on the Arcade. It's nice "happy talk" to say we'll turn Burlington into the Garden of Eden or Market Square or whatever, but it's just not real. And it costs a lot. NOW is not the time to pursue that. We can't burn our oars to keep warm or we'll never get to shore.
We should take care of what we have, not bite off more than we can chew, and persevere. This is a time for tenacity. And obviously some people's eyes were bigger than their wallets, and have had to fold - which drags down everyone a little bit. Take a look at where credit card defaults are going, factor in over 10% unemployment, and if you aren't Pollyanna you'll see a ticking time bomb. People are going to discover - the hard way - that taking out equity loans doesn't work when you are jobless and have $35K on the credit cards. We must not let the Village government fall into the same trap.
I'm not talking about the Village spending money here, Don. This thread is not about the parking lot or any other Village-sponsored initiatives. It's about what type of businesses we'd like to see in town. I do think that the Village needs to take an active role in promoting this development, but I think that this can be done without spending large sums. And, as Commonsense pointed out, this was a plank in the RCA platform. I'm not criticizing the Board here, just noting that fact. I think the Village needs to have a serious conversation about what the CBD will look like 2, 5, 10 and 20 years from now, and the Board needs to take an active role in this discussion. Otherwise, I fear we'll be seeing dollar stores and other crap like that.
And I understand that. But calling up quotes from last fall and then crying foul if changes have to be made in priorities because of the changes in the numbers is not only useless but unrealistic. I know that people want to bring businesses here, but the economy is being buffeted by gale force winds at the moment and we can hardly pay for the necessities - you know - PUBLIC SAFETY, the whole mantra. So maybe the idea of bringing someone on board to search out appropriate businesses for the CBD has to be put on hold for awhile. Look at the lead article in the Landmark - the cuts that will happen if the State budget goes as now proposed. Everybody is going to have to give up something. If we spent $5OK on soliciting new businesses and aren't successful, or cant use incentives to aid the process, that could end up being spent for nought. We don't make much back on the village portion of the sales tax, so it will be a short term loss, and we don't have a lot of discretionary funds to spend. Some of this stuff is going to have to wait a bit, I think. I predict the next quarterly report will see our revenue stream and collections dropping further, so let's not castigate the people that are trying to stretch what we have. I wish somebody would step up and open a pizza/bar/dining place but I'm not going to hold my breath. Other towns have already laid off staff - nine or eleven in Brookfield - and I would like to see that not happen. This is what I would classify as an emerging emergency situation. Sometimes you have to repair instead of buying a new one, and this to me looks like one of those times. Not the time for planning 20 years hence.
John M, I wish you would stop being so disrespectful to Don. He does a lot more than most for this community, and is entitled to his honest opinion on the matter at hand. It is not personal.
I agree it is uncomfortable and embarrassing for most people to give feedback to our businesses. People simply do not return. Maybe they could set up anonymous suggestion boxes.
I noticed someone ask a while ago for people not to forget Jem. I wonder whether the businesses we already have can take the competition right now?
Of course, that does not preclude other kinds of businesses.
It is true there are a lot of people in town with the money to start or fund a start-up business. I have heard people say they were willing to give micro-loans. But, as with the Arcade, no organization arose from that. Is it because there are not enough shoppers? Perhaps. I wonder whether villagers who do not live near the CBD and do not pass it in their daily rounds are really mentally oriented toward it. Maybe the Chamber of Commerce could take out ads in the local papers and re-emphasize the "Buy Riverside" slogan.
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