ESSEX JUNCTION, Vt. (WCAX) – This fall, Essex Junction is experimenting with closing down their Main St. for community gatherings to encourage more foot traffic.
Yankee Pride quilts in Essex Junction passed a successful 23 years on Main St.
This fall, the town decided to try and bring in more visitors by closing off Main St. four Saturdays in a row — keeping it only open to pedestrians.
The quilt shop owner, Judy Thomas, expresses her concerns.
“I was really worried about our business because we have a lot of out of town customers,” Thomas said.
The event, Meet me on Main Street, sets up at 1p.m. for the festivities to start at four.
Thomas’s shop closes at 5 — meaning she misses out on a lot of the heavy foot traffic during their busiest time of year.
A main concern is her customers not having a place to park.
“There isn’t a whole lot of parking in this area so it’s just difficult sometimes,” Thomas said.
Thomas wrote a letter to Essex Junction City Council letting them know her concerns and was told that her opinion was valued.
“It’s kind of hard to believe that they really value your business when they just decide on this event and never say one word,” Thomas said.
But other business owners say they appreciate the initiative.
Right across the street is Bespoke — a fairly new bike shop. Owner Jake Tran thinks this event is great for exposure.
“I think it’s a win. The more eyes the better, you know, a lot of people came down and told me they didn’t know the bike shop was here,” Tran said.
Even if they didn’t buy anything, they now know he’s there.
“You know those people now that they’re aware of us most likely will come back,” Tran said.
Even though he shifted store hours to stay open later on Saturdays, Tran thinks the benefits outweigh the negatives of having a lot of people on the street.
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