I can’t imagine that the problem was the food. Reviewers raved on urbanspoon.com: “Reasonable prices and local ownership make me go back over and over.” “The Balsamic Mandarin Salad … is always fresh and delicious.” “Seems packed on weekends so I will start going during the week.” So, what happened? Why did the café close?
Some at the recent meeting airing complaints about the streetscape project speculated that the upheaval downtown contributed to the closing. Maybe, but maybe not. On my last visit in February, we parked on south 1st Street and walked. Granted, I had to dodge a few patches of icy sidewalk, but I really didn’t mind — a cup of great coffee was waiting.
On May 14, 2009, I wrote, “Our community could help to allay fears and help business owners know we’ll invest in their success if they will take a chance on the streetscape plan. I know I would park a little further away and walk to Main & Maple for one of their omelets and a cup of coffee on a Saturday morning.”
Was I alone in that sentiment?
It is an aggravation to navigate downtown right now. It does seem like the project is dragging on forever, and I do hope the end result will be worth the wait. But in the meantime, the city and the community need to do more than just listen to concerned business owners. What good will a beautiful streetscape be if all the sidewalks lead to empty buildings?
City commissioners need to get to the bottom of what happened and learn how to better support fledgling or struggling businesses. They also have a responsibility, while protecting the privacy of the business owners, to let us know why a seemingly successful business closed.
Commissioners also need to improve efforts to lure new businesses downtown or it will soon be a ghost town. Success begets success, and failure begets failure. The last thing Nicholasville needs is a cascade of business closings just when we have made a huge investment in improvements.
“Thank you for your loyal patronage and support.” The final statement on the closing announcement seems more like an indictment. Did we spend too much money at the chains like Starbucks and Panera? We must not have been loyal enough to a hometown business if it had to close.
I’m feeling sad and a little guilty.
