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OHIO ARTrepreneurship SUMMT [TODAY ] details inside JANUARY 28, 2025
VOLUME 115, ISSUE 18
THEPOSTATHENS.COM
Athens business owners discuss the loss of local shops FINN SMITH | FOR THE POST
Is Athens losing its
charm?
Many Athens residents are noticing the disappearance of their favorite small businesses, and some are questioning whether it will affect the character of Athens.
(MEGAN VANVLACK | PHOTO EDITOR)
S
ara Quoia Bryant, owner of Cool Digs Rock Shop, hosted a town hall meeting Wednesday in the Athens Community Center to discuss the loss of local businesses in town. Bryant owns two locations of Cool Digs Rock Shop, one at 13 W. Union St. and one at 596 E. State St. The town hall began with Bryant giving a personal story, discussing her struggles maintaining business in her shop on West Union. Bryant pointed her struggles to the ongoing construction located outside of the Lostro building, which has effectively blocked off the main parts of the sidewalk close to her shop entry. Bryant voiced her frustration with the city and said its poor management has led to inaccessible businesses. “I know I’m not the only business owner in this community that has had trouble getting help from our administration, who has had a lot of solid construction projects, and I’m just going to call it what it is,” Bryant said. “It’s bad city planning, and it affects real lives.” The meeting was then opened to the audience, offering the attendees to speak about their personal experiences with local business management in Athens. James Wanke, a member of the family who owns and operates Silver Serpent, asked the attendees in the forum to shout out all of the local businesses that have shut down in the past year. Those in attendance mentioned names such as China Fortune, Athena Grand, GrubN-Go, Ambassador Launders, Sol Island Bar and Grill, Import House and Jack Neal Floral. Wanke connected the closures to failures on the city’s part and said the city had no purpose in closing the sidewalk down on West Union Street. “I really can’t think of any example of where the city has ever helped us or made any sort of real accommodation to assist us in opening and operating a local business,” Wanke said. Barbara Stout, the owner of Athens Underground, spoke about how Athens has changed since her childhood in the city. “When I was growing up, Court Street was a vibrant business district with all kinds of funky little shops and places you went
Business owners, employees dispute Import House space GINA NAPOLI | HUMAN INTEREST STAFF WRITER The first Import House opened in 1986 in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and a second location arrived at 68 N. Court St. in 1995. In the fall of 2024, the Athens location closed, leaving half of the space vacant and Athens locals in anticipation of the unknown business which will take its place. Import House was known for its spunky designs, vibrant clothes, beautiful jewelry, tobacco and hookah pipes. Many regulars were sad to see the business go. However, those who enjoy venturing down Court Street for a night out with friends may have just won the lottery. The popular evening destination Stephen’s on
Court, located at 66 N. Court St., bought half of the Import House space and has been doing renovations. Despite people’s excitement, some local business owners believe seeing a new business utilize the Import House space would be a more productive decision, instead of another 21-plus location. Maxwell Levitsky, an employee of Athens Underground, said the other half of Import House should be taken by an organization that contributes to the neighborhood’s growth. “I’d love to see any kind of local business come and take that space, preferably not a
bar or another smoke shop … I think there are way too many of those in town,” Levitsky said. Levitsky said the addition of a diverse business would bring “more traffic” to the area, as most students do not travel past West State Street unless they are looking for an alcoholic drink. Shaylee Tucker, owner of Big Run Kava Bar, said she supports the Athens bar atmosphere, but welcoming a fresh perspective may be more important in the long run. “Anybody in Athens would prefer to see something maybe more local … I think that is what Athens kind of thrives off of,” Tucker said.
downtown and went shopping,” Stout said. “Over the years, more and more and more have gone out.” Celeste Polsenelli, co-owner of Little Professor Book Center, cited issues with not just the city but with Ohio University as well. “The university, over the last several years, has become incredibly more insular and is not doing very much to promote having students (and) faculty come in and enjoy the town (and) shop at our centers,” Polsenelli said. Mayor Steve Patterson was in attendance and came up to speak, starting by thanking all of those present for their commitment to Athens. Patterson then proposed solutions to this issue, first pointing out succession planning, which would allow businesses to have new people come in and take over the shop if the current owners cannot continue operation. Patterson also proposed creating a small business committee or council as well as a city business liaison. The proposed additions would allow for more collaboration between the city and local businesses. Patterson said in the past year and a half, nine food and beverage establishments, five retail stores, four service providers and three healthcare industry establishments have opened in Athens. Bryant proposed two major solutions, beginning with pushing for a community benefits plan. “It outlines how the project will impact the community, both good and bad, and then outlines how the company will improve the community with their project and how they will mitigate harm,” Bryant said. Bryant then discussed a proposed bill called the Athens Administrative Accountability Act for 2025. “This (act) would just be a simple document that we could pass by citizens initiative that basically says that we expect our elected to follow our city code and to take action when it’s not being followed,” Bryant said. After the meeting, Bryant reflected on the outcome of the town hall. “I was encouraged that we had a lot of people show up. I thought that was really great,” Bryant said. “I feel encouraged that so many of them were business owners, and I know that we as a community, we’re going to stick together.”
(ETHAN HERX | FOR THE POST)