'Friends' look to university to generate downtown business
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By: Robert C. Gunst Jr., Staff Writer
Issue date: 2/29/08 Section: City
Bill Hester passionately wants to see a stronger effort to strengthen the economy of Chapel Hill.
"We need to add value to this town in ways that Southpoint can't," Hester said, referring to Durham's The Streets at Southpoint mall.
Hester, a UNC graduate and owner of Bill Hester Fine Art in University Square, was one of 46 local business owners who attended the Friends of Downtown meeting Thursday morning at the Franklin Hotel.
The Friends is a nonprofit organization that facilitates discussion about pertinent local economic issues among business owners in Chapel Hill, said Pat Evans, the group's volunteer chairwoman. They meet on the last Thursday of every month.
The featured speaker at Thursday's meeting was John Morris, a local certified real estate agent and UNC graduate who has lived in Chapel Hill for 43 years.
Morris stressed that Chapel Hill will always be a college town with a college atmosphere despite the increasing amount of services for students on campus, such as Student Stores.
"Once the University started to provide services for the students, the town began to wither a little," Morris said.
Evans encouraged all in attendance to go local and support Franklin Street.
The issue Chapel Hill business owners face is how to generate consistent revenue from the non-student population, Morris said.
"It is important to better understand the demographics of downtown Chapel Hill. It's not just students buying beer and pizza," Hester said.
Others in attendance said Chapel Hill's limited parking capacity deters business and ultimately leads to a loss of revenue.
"We need to make it much easier for people to park downtown," said Tommy O'Connell, the owner of 411 West Italian Cafe on West Franklin Street.
"We need to be creative in our solutions to this problem because our customers truly appreciate the valet service on the west end of town."
Morris also highlighted the vacancies in many former downtown business locations.
"We need to add value to this town in ways that Southpoint can't," Hester said, referring to Durham's The Streets at Southpoint mall.
Hester, a UNC graduate and owner of Bill Hester Fine Art in University Square, was one of 46 local business owners who attended the Friends of Downtown meeting Thursday morning at the Franklin Hotel.
The Friends is a nonprofit organization that facilitates discussion about pertinent local economic issues among business owners in Chapel Hill, said Pat Evans, the group's volunteer chairwoman. They meet on the last Thursday of every month.
The featured speaker at Thursday's meeting was John Morris, a local certified real estate agent and UNC graduate who has lived in Chapel Hill for 43 years.
Morris stressed that Chapel Hill will always be a college town with a college atmosphere despite the increasing amount of services for students on campus, such as Student Stores.
"Once the University started to provide services for the students, the town began to wither a little," Morris said.
Evans encouraged all in attendance to go local and support Franklin Street.
The issue Chapel Hill business owners face is how to generate consistent revenue from the non-student population, Morris said.
"It is important to better understand the demographics of downtown Chapel Hill. It's not just students buying beer and pizza," Hester said.
Others in attendance said Chapel Hill's limited parking capacity deters business and ultimately leads to a loss of revenue.
"We need to make it much easier for people to park downtown," said Tommy O'Connell, the owner of 411 West Italian Cafe on West Franklin Street.
"We need to be creative in our solutions to this problem because our customers truly appreciate the valet service on the west end of town."
Morris also highlighted the vacancies in many former downtown business locations.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Hello!
posted 2/29/08 @ 6:46 AM EST
Get the worthless bums off the street!! Duh!
Dave
posted 2/29/08 @ 8:00 AM EST
Bums, parking, and high rents negatively impact retail in Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill will rebound but Carrboro's where it's at nowadays.
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