The all too familiar sight of vacant store fronts and shops
advertising liquidation sales in downtown Hollister is pushing the
Hollister Downtown Association to scramble for ideas on how to
bring more people to local businesses.
Hollister – The all too familiar sight of vacant store fronts and shops advertising liquidation sales in downtown Hollister is pushing the Hollister Downtown Association to scramble for ideas on how to bring more people to local businesses.
After 14 years in Hollister, Dorothy McNett announced last week that she was closing her upscale cookware shop on San Benito Street because business was too slow. The Old Flower Mill, also on San Benito Street, will be closing its doors later this month after selling country-style antiques downtown for three years.
As they see their fellow business owners making the difficult decision to close their stores, other downtown business owners are uncertain about what the future holds their stores.
“It’s a sad thing about the (Old) Flower Mill and Dorothy (McNett),” said Jeannine Porteur DiVincenzo, owner of Boutique de Lingerie on San Benito Street. “It’s going to get worse. I don’t know what the answer is anymore. But it makes me look at what the heck our mortality rate is here.”
DiVincenzo, who is now looking into selling her shop, moved her business to San Benito Street three years ago, hoping that a downtown location would bring in more business than her previous location on McCray Street.
And the move did help sales – for a while.
“Three years ago (business) was awesome,” DiVincenzo said. “But since then it has gotten worse and worse.”
DiVincenzo has identified several things that she thinks contribute to the decline in business for many downtown stores, such as competition with retail chain stores in Gilroy and Salinas, the economy and the war in Iraq.
“The biggest challenge is reaching residents that don’t know the stores exist,” said Brenda Weatherly, who started as HDA’s executive director last week. “It’s an issue of education and letting people know what’s here.”
Another problem for downtown businesses is the reality that because many Hollister residents work out of town, they do their shopping out of town as well, she said.
Many downtown business owners share worries about what is happening to Downtown Hollister right now and what it means for the future. There are currently seven empty retail properties in downtown Hollister, Weatherly said.
Chief among DiVincenzo’s concerns is the high volume of traffic going through San Benito Street and the lack of crosswalks that would allow potential customers a safer way to get from one side of the street to the other as the peruse the downtown shops.
“It’s killing us,” she said.
Weatherly agrees that the dearth of crosswalks is a problem for downtown businesses.
“If you go down by (Veterans Memorial Building) there’s no way to get across safety,” she said, adding that since the street is part of a state highway there isn’t much HDA can do besides asking the state department of transportation to paint some crosswalks.
“We need to start doing something,” Weatherly said, “become the squeaky wheel and push for a quick resolution.”
The Hollister Downtown Association is working with local business owners to develop a marketing program that would draw more people to downtown businesses, according to Weatherly.
“As a group we can be more effective,” she said.
One of the ideas the HDA is considering is having a monthly class for local businesses, which would educate owners on how to decorate an appealing store front window and how to reach out for business through the Internet. Also, HDA members have discussed bringing more weekly events to downtown, which would pull people into the area so they can see what downtown has to offer. The HDA may also look into the availability of grant money that could be used to revitalize and publicize the downtown area.
“Our number one priority is to prevent them (downtown businesses) from going out of business,” Weatherly said.
But any plan that HDA devises to bring foot traffic to downtown businesses will come too late for McNett, and for Jessica Walker and Jody Ayars who run The Old Flower Mill on San Benito Street.
After three years of selling antiques from their downtown location, they made the “practical decision” to liquidate their stock and close their doors, Walker said.
“I’m not here to go further into debt,” she said.
After hitting a high point during the holiday season in 2002, sales at the Old Flower Mill steadily declined each year, Walker said, adding that business only began to pick up once they started a liquidation sale last month.
“I’m really sad,” Walker said. “I like doing the shop. I love collecting. Most of all I have developed lots of friendships. I feel connected to downtown Hollister, and I’m worried about what is happening.”
Luke Roney covers politics and agriculture for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at lr****@fr***********.com
