Main Street Conference kicks off with panel talk
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on March 17, 2016 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Goldsboro City Manager Scott Stevens welcomes Main Street Conference attendees before Wednesday's panel discussion at the Paramount Theatre.
Hundreds of community leaders from around the state converged on Goldsboro Wednesday as the 2016 North Carolina Main Street Conference got under way.
The conference officially opened with a community conversation where those attending listened to a panel made up of prominent community members from Boone, Burlington, Edenton, Morganton, Shelby and Warrenton as they discussed various economic factors that drive their communities.
These community leaders shared knowledge they have gained during their careers of involvement with downtown areas so attendees could take the knowledge back to their own communities.
Both Boone and Burlington are college towns -- home to Appalachian State University and Elon University, respectively -- meaning their downtown areas have unique demands they must meet in order to thrive.
Burlington did this by creating Company Shops Market, a cooperatively owned grocery store where anyone in the community can own a stake in the store. A stake is purchased in the business for the cost of $100 for an individual or $150 for a family. Currently, 3,000 people own a stake in the business, which the operation's co-founder said will allow the business to thrive for a long time.
"The idea of a community owning their own business -- that is such a powerful thing to have in what it does for a community," said Eric Henry, co-founder of the Company Shops Market. "Alamance County now has 153,000 people serviced by three Super Wal-Marts. When you think about that, that store is in our community for one thing -- for your money. If they don't have your money, they leave."
The idea of a community owning a business is what has allowed the Company Shops Market to compete with big box stores and continue to thrive.
"The power of a co-op is that yes, my wife and I, we are owner number one, anybody can shop there, but you have the power of now owning a piece of this store. You have the right to run for the board of directors. You have the right to participate in profits once the store is profitable, which we are at the break even point now. But the main thing is that it's owned by 3,000 people of our community. That store is not going anywhere. I might go away, which, I will go away. But that store will stay there," Henry said. "When you go to a big box store, yes, your toilet paper might be a little bit cheaper, but that money basically completely leaves your community very fast."
Boone has empowered its downtown and serviced their melting pot population of college students, locals and tourists by building a downtown that is customer-based and balances the interests of everyone in its community.
"For Boone, (our downtown) is a very eclectic assortment of businesses," said Lynne Mason, a council member of the Boone Town Council and owner of a brewery and restaurant in downtown Boone. "One of the first things I learned about Main streets was the importance of downtowns having diversity -- having your retail, having your services, dining places and entertainment. Now, you start to hear more about the importance of having residential opportunities downtown."
But not every town with a thriving downtown is a college town -- some are actually quite small. Warrenton and Edenton are two such towns in North Carolina and each emphasizes its specialties and local government involvement.
Robert Davie, town administrator for Warrenton, said his town of roughly 850 people has been able to attract people from all over North Carolina by focusing on what the town is known for -- quilting.
Quilt Lizzy, a sewing and quilting shop, is based in Warrenton and is known for its quality products -- so much so that the town is building its entire economy around this business.
"For some reason, quilting and small towns kind of go together," Davie said. "There's something connected there. There's something that goes real deep ... and it makes people drive outrageous distances to come to your town. Just last week, I was told that a lady drove a couple of hours into Warrenton from a town in North Carolina to purchase a sewing machine. She drove past Raleigh, she drove past Greenville, she drove into little old Warrenton. Passed all the sewing machine dealers along the way. She got there and she wanted about a $1,600 sewing machine. Well, she walked out of there, happy as a clam, with a $7,000 sewing machine."
Davie also said when businesses come to Warrenton, local elected officials often go and visit them to welcome them as they open their doors.
This government involvement is also something Edenton uses, said Edenton Mayor Roland Vaughan, that is a key to a successful downtown. Intertwined branches of government that are in constant communication has allowed the town to thrive, despite a population that has been resting at roughly 5,000 people for the past 30 years.
"Our economic development organization, our chamber of commerce and our tourist development director all work in the same building. They have a common receptionist and assistant, which can be problematic on some days, as you might expect," Vaughan said. "It is our belief that the exchange of knowledge, the awareness of what one division is doing within the community on any given day or at any given time, is beneficial to the overall health and well-being of our town and, therefore, our citizens."
And sometimes, making a downtown area successful is about taking a gamble on unconventional ideas.
The cities of Morganton and Shelby both did this, with Morganton opting to put a seven-screen multiplex movie theater in the middle of its downtown, and Shelby opening a brewery in its downtown area near music theaters.
"The arts and culture have always been extremely important in our community, but what these facilities did was they established a real commitment and a hub in the very heart of our uptown community," said Roger Holland, Principal of Holland and Hamrick Architects, who opened a brewery in uptown Shelby. "More importantly was not so much the musical identity, but the investment that this public/private partnership made that sent a message to everybody in town -- all the local people from outside uptown -- that said the uptown really has potential. This kind of commitment uptown has given others, including myself, the confidence to once again invest in our uptown area."
In Morganton, outside of going after a movie theater to put in its downtown, a key has been unconventional partnerships and taking gambles on things many people might not take a second look at.
Sharon Jablonski, Morganton's Main Street director, said Morganton has actively been recruiting businesses to its downtown area and is also partnering with a demographic many might feel uncomfortable partnering with -- millennials.
Mrs. Jablonski said millennials aged 22 to 24 years old have opened as many as 10 businesses in downtown Morganton in recent years.
"I absolutely have loved working with young people," Mrs. Jablonski said. "They have changed Morganton completely."
The 2016 North Carolina Main Street Conference continues today in the 100 block of South Center Street at the Paramount Theatre. There will be keynote speeches, break out sessions, downtown tours, an awards dinner at 6 p.m. and a bar crawl tonight beginning at 8:45 p.m.