An effort to fill vacant storefronts in downtown Akron with fresh entrepreneurial business ventures is off to a promising start, says Sharon Gillberg, communications director for the Downtown Akron Partnership.
DAP issued a call to prospective entrepreneurs to submit their proposals to be part of the Pop-Up Retail program, which is geared to matching tenants looking to launch a business with downtown property owners with first-floor storefront space available for occupancy.
“We didn’t really know what to expect when we sent it out,” Gillberg says. “But we were very happy with the initial response. We got a lot of unique and diverse ideas and a lot of the applicants showed quite a bit of creativity in their proposals.”
In total, 33 applications were received for the program. A committee comprised of property owners and members of the Downtown Akron Partnership board went through and attempted to determine the viability of the proposals.
“We wanted to see if these applicants were ready to take the step into a brick-and-mortar location,” Gillberg says.
Those who met the criteria were connected with organizations such as SCORE, a nonprofit association comprised of 13,000-plus volunteer business counselors affiliated with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
“It’s a business mentoring program to help them put together a business plan and to get a feel for the business they want to open,” Gillberg says.
Another key was determining if the concept would be a good fit downtown and if there was an existing property owner that could help get the new business up and running.
“There were some we thought could be grouped together that had complementary services and could work well in a cluster,” Gillberg says. “Then it was all about connecting them with property owners. Any negotiations for space were directly with the business and the property. So we convened and got people together.”
Clearing a path
The economic climate for entrepreneurship in the small business sector is challenging, says Christine Vadala, business specialist for the Downtown Akron Partnership.
“We are trying to increase foot traffic and get entrepreneurs on the path of building success and creating their own traffic — a following, if you will — through social media and marketing,” Vadala says.
“This eliminates an obstacle. So many entrepreneurs understand their business, their product and their customer, but can’t translate that into brick and mortar. So this really does enable them to take that very scary step forward. When a business has brick and mortar, it gives the company credibility that it didn’t previously have.”
The first business to successfully launch was Pressed for Success, a dry cleaner at 209 S. Main St. that offers dry cleaning pickup and delivery to any downtown Akron entity.
“Our goal is to make the employees, businesses and residents of downtown Akron look good and to help rebuild Main Street one shirt at a time,” says Blaise Meeker, co-owner at Dressed for Success.
Ely Road Boutique, Sweet Mary’s Bakery and Rubber City Comics have also opened for business and are off to promising starts.
“One thing I’ve been hearing pretty consistently from business owners is they want to be part of Akron’s revitalizing,” Vadala says. “It’s near and dear to their heart. They want to be part of its energy. I keep hearing those words. It says to me that there are a lot of people in the area and outlying areas that are watching what we’re doing and want to be part of it. It’s hard to create, but once you have that momentum, I think you’ll see some amazing things happen.”
Gaining foot traffic
One of the keys to the long-term viability of any business in a downtown setting is foot traffic. The more events that can be lined up downtown, the more opportunities there are to connect with a batch of new customers.
“It’s very important to create events and create foot traffic that you normally wouldn’t have day to day or on the weekends,” Vadala says. “The John S. Knight Center helps with events and with creating an environment that is aesthetically pleasing whether it’s putting flower pots on the side of the road or developing a walking path. Then you look at signage, hotels, restaurants — all that helps create the traffic and keeps people downtown.” ●
How to reach: Downtown Akron Partnership, (330) 374-7676 or www.downtownakron.com
