Scene by Carson: A tough report on Downtown Fort Smith

feature story by Amanda Carson
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Downtown should be the focal point for entertainment, food and shopping for any major city. Considering Fort Smith is the second largest city in Arkansas, it should be the focal point of ours.

Guess what? It’s not.

It is a good place to be and has tons of potential with which many are failing to capitalize. Chalk it up to lack of vision, lack of positive thinking and lack of pride of ownership.

An extremely important key to success, as any marketing major will kindly tell you and what every average business Joe should know too, is signage. This is something almost every store needs to improve. Signage should be bold, vibrant and relevant to your business. Make it clearly known what your business is, so people don’t have to press their smudgy little hands and face against the glass just to get a clue.

Also, make your hours present and visible so people other than Superman can see what they are from the curb.

Another key point —take pride of ownership. Whether a tenant or owner, tidy up, please. Sweep, mop, Windex, make people know you are proud to be there so others will be proud to give you their business. These are simple steps that go a long, long way to increase your business. On average, 20,000 cars come across the Garrison Avenue bridge every day. That is 20,000 opportunities for business, because you can bet your sweet bottom they are window shopping.

Of all the store fronts on Garrison Avenue there are roughly 24 that are empty. A word to these property owners of vacant spaces: CLEAN UP OR COVER UP.  If you are too lazy to get your rear in there with a broom and Windex or too cheap to hire cleaning help, then cover the windows with black paper — not tacky newspaper.

By not covering the 10- or 20-feet of glass store front, you are exposing your cobwebs, trash, mold and laziness to all of Garrison. Congratulations, you are single handedly making it difficult for downtown to thrive. Do you think a store owner would look into putting a boutique next to a building covered with mold?

So for that reason you will be called out.

If you are the property owners of 900 block, you have been awarded the Revolting Award for your putrid mold carpeting, cobweb curtains and decaying ceiling.

If you are the property owners of 400 block, you have been awarded the Eye Sore Award for your heinous costume display and inept knowledge of the use of Windex.

But there is a light at the end of this dimwitted tunnel; there is very good potential for new property owners of both of these block. And one can only hope the new owner has a demolition and janitorial team on staff.

Since the attitude of so many in this town is to dwell on the negative, let’s move on to a more positive note, shall we? There are many store fronts that do it up right and for this reason they should be called out in praise.

Creative Kitchen, you are awarded the Cute to Boot Award. Everything about your store is cute, appealing and inviting. Other store owners should drive by for some good visual advice.

The Award for Best Window Display goes to Emi Lee’s, where the window display is bright and vibrant and makes people want to see more.

The Friendliest Customer Service Award goes to Popped Popcorn. A little tidbit to anyone in sales; it is not your product that keeps customers returning, it is 110% your level of kindness and courtesy to others. Take a lesson from the popcorn people. They are more than obliging and welcoming to let you or your kids try all twenty-something flavors, like grape and dill pickle, for free. And they are open year round, for a great gift any time of year. And kudos to them the excellent use of window advertising through the empty window space next door.

So what do we have to look forward to in downtown this year? Well spring is here and that means the peak season for the Farmers Market downtown. The market is held Saturdays at the parking lot of Second and A Street.

The April 2-3 weekend marks the grand reopening of the Park at West End.

Mojo’s Ivory House hopes to grace us with the opening of stylish new lofts and the styling of a new piano bar in early spring.

One can only hope that when Blazin’ Burrito says “coming soon” it will actually mean 2010 this year.

The Pink Zebra, a new children’s boutique, opens April 1st. The new boutique will offer new and quality, recycled baby and children’s clothes, as well as throw themed birthday parties.

A new parking lot will also be built that will provide close parking for Second Street Live and the Glass Pavilion to help stimulate traffic for these facilities.

Jayne Hughes, downtown development coordinator (Go Downtown Fort Smith) with the city of Fort Smith, recently said between $5 and $10 million is invested in downtown each year.

Go Downtown Fort Smith is an organization driven to keep life and improve the life of downtown. There is only so much they can do though, only so many times they can encourage businesses to use proper signage and clean up. It is up to you, business and property owners, to take pride in what you do and where you work and help Downtown thrive.