Rachel Ward has tied balloons outside her storefront at What’s In Your Closet Resale Boutique. She has offered coupons for her customers. She has made a plea to her customers on the store’s Facebook page.
But construction on South Main Street has crippled Ward’s efforts to build her six-month-old business. At 65 S. Main St., the far south end of the work zone, the stream of foot traffic has dried up in the dust.
“I had three days with no sales at all, and that hasn’t happened since I opened my business,” Ward said in April. “The people just aren’t coming down here.”
Construction crews started on the southern stretch of the Main Street project about one month ago. Many business owners noted a dip in sales and foot traffic, but newer faces – like Ward’s What’s In Your Closet Resale Boutique – reported more anxiety than Concord fixtures. Up and down the block, however, restaurants and retailers alike are encouraging shoppers to hang in there.
“Anytime someone complains, I just remind them there’s no point in doing any of this if there are no businesses left for them to enjoy,” Maddie Cole of Bonafide Green Goods said. “They just have to stick it out, and it will all be worth it.”
Cole, who took over the shop last year from its previous owner, said her sales have been down. She joked about setting up a viewing platform for the construction outside her store: “People on their lunch breaks will just stop and watch and stare.”
Both Cole and Dan McBride of neighboring Yo-Yo Heaven touted their shared parking lot in front of their building, a boon when half of the on-street spaces are overtaken by heavy machinery. They are also both leaning on web sales to make up for a lack of foot traffic.
“We’ve put more work into our online presence,” McBride said. “At this point, it’s more than supplemental. People aren’t coming in.”
Vibes Gourmet Burgers and Buza Dairy Bar opened on South Main Street in the fall. Owner Jeannette Zaza noted the construction schedule has regularly included Saturday work, which wasn’t common last year. Business is down, she said, but she hoped warmer weather would bring out more people.
“I think they’re used to it because of what happened on North Main Street,” Zaza said.
Necessities or specialty items draw shoppers to the Concord Food Cooperative, director of development Greg Lessard said. Even so, he said construction has made “a pretty significant dent” in sales.
The store doesn’t plan to cut staff, but is looking for other ways to trim costs. For example, Lessard said the co-op likely won’t be able to give out as many donations.
He encouarge shoppers to try to navigate the downtown with an open mind, before swearing off Main Street for the summer.
“Maybe it takes you an extra minute or two,” he said. “I think it’s really a perception. You see a lot of construction activity and visually you just believe that there’s going to be difficulty getting through the town.”
A longtime downtown merchant, Gibson’s Bookstore is relying on a built-up base of customers. Owner Michael Herrmann said his numbers are down, but not by much.
“I think ‘shop local’ is a value that has really caught on here in Concord,” he said. “Now more than ever, the stores that are in a construction zone certainly need it.”
In the meantime, he and others just keep pointing up the street.
“They also have the example of how North Main Street looks,” Herrmann said. “Most people that we’re talking to are sure that it’s worth it. It’s just kind of a grin-and-bear-it kind of attitude.”
Still, Intown Concord and the Main Street project PR team are both looking to beef up their strategies to advocate for South Main Street businesses.
“What we learned the last time around is, this is the time when it takes a little while for people to get accustomed to things,” project spokesman Brett St. Clair, a partner at Louis Karno & Co., said. “We expect it’ll settle down a little going forward. It’s like the shock and awe period.”
St. Clair said his firm would be making a more direct pitch to drivers and passers-by on traffic message boards, reminding them downtown businesses are open. The team also planned to add more signs to encourage shoppers to head through the construction zone.
“What we found last year overall on North Main Street, some businesses had a better year than the year before,” St. Clair said. “Probably an equal number had a worse year. And 80 percent in the middle may have been down a little bit, but not enough to worry about.”
Intown Concord has also posted maps of downtown with business logos, and its staff said they will continue to host Discover Downtown events to promote local businesses.
“Our takeaway is, we’re going to double up as much effort as we can to communicate out to the community to support the downtown,” Susan Sokul, communications and event coordinator, said. “This year, it is more important than ever that people continue to navigate the detour and still visit downtown.”
Those efforts gave hope to concerned business owners like Ward, but they couldn’t calm all her fears.
“I’m kind of feeling like, ‘Oh God, what am I going to do?’ ” she said.
The Concord Farmers’ Market is open for the season in its traditional location next to the New Hampshire State House.
President Wayne Hall said the market will have about 40 regular vendors, as well as guest vendors. Last year’s market moved one block east to accommodate construction on the nearby State House dome. But patrons found that change confusing, Hall said. So the market has returned to its traditional home – Capitol Street, between North Main and State streets.
“The city of Concord really went to bat for us and worked it out for the state of New Hampshire, so we could be back in that position on Sunday,” Hall said.
The market season has started about two weeks early this year.
“We wanted to shorten the gap between (the winter farmers’ market at Cole Gardens) and our market, so consumers continue to get the great fresh, local products that the area brings,” he said.
Hall said he and other vendors are excited to see their regular customers again.
“Concord’s people are the finest,” Hall said. “They’re cream-of-the-crop people.”
Vendors at the Concord market sell a wide range of food items, including fruits and vegetables, bread, baked goods, dairy products, meat and fish. Other stalls sell plants, cut flowers, composting worms, dog treats and soap.
For a full list of vendors or more information, visit concordfarmersmarket.com or the Concord Farmers’ Market Facebook page.
Crews will be focusing this week on the South Main Street sidewalks, which will be ready for concrete next week.
Crews planned to work over this past weekend, installing granite curbs on the east side of the street between Pleasant Street and Hills Avenue.
“We’ll begin to see more and more of what South Main Street will begin to look like as the barriers between the street and sidewalk are set,” the project PR team wrote in its weekly update.
During the week, crews will be installing electrical and irrigation conduit, granite planters, foundations for benches and bike racks in addition to the curbing. Pouring of concrete for sidewalks will begin May 16.
Due to rain, the crews were not able to wash and seal the granite and brick on North Main Street as planned. That work will take place this week. While the sealant dries, pedestrians are asked to keep off the marked areas.
For more information or to sign up for regular email updates about the construction, visit concordmainstreetproject.com.
(Megan Doyle can be reached at 369-3321, mdoyle@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @megan_e_doyle.)