The West Bend Current

By Ren Daute, Current Staff

Business owners in downtown West Bend are so thrilled to finally have their street and sidewalks back, they are planning to throw a party.

The downtown area has been under construction since April, which means no cars have been able to drive through, cutting off access to many popular businesses. With the project near completion, the owners gathered and decided to celebrate the long-awaited reopening with a festival on North Main Street. The event, called “Back on Main,” will run 5-8 p.m. on Nov. 3 and 2-8 p.m. on Nov. 4.

“We are having a big old party,” said Christy Mac, owner of Christy Mac’s Boutique. “We’re doing lights and street performers and bands, a big massive downtown reopening party.”

With the construction set to wrap up later this month, the downtown businesses are eager to welcome back area customers.

The party will certainly attract the attention of long-time customers of downtown businesses and as a result, should bring both old and new activity to the businesses that have been slowed by construction during the warm seasons.

But when it comes to individual promotions and celebrations, many businesses are unsure if they will need to take individual action for customers to start heading back their way.

“(The party) will get everybody down here,” said Bill Laufer, co-owner of Candyman on Main. “I’m not sure what we’re going to do individually yet, I’m sure we’ll be busy and that will be a good thing, so I’m not sure we’ll need to do anything yet.”

Ground was broken April 3 in downtown West Bend to kick off the Main Street reconstruction project. The project was started in tandem with the Downtown Riverwalk project in order to repair the roads and sidewalks in the area, as well as finish up the paths that run along the Milwaukee River and behind many businesses in the area.

Mayor Joel Ongert announced Tuesday that downtown Main Street will likely open Friday afternoon, 10 days ahead of schedule.

Despite remaining open during the road work, many businesses downtown have seen decreased numbers since the construction began. Luckily, according to some of the owners in the area, many establishments were not as harshly affected by the blockage as they thought they would be.

“I know that it’s affected most of the businesses, but I would say it’s only affected me minimally,” Mac said. “But not as bad as I expected.”

Christy Mac’s Boutique provides a unique assortment of clothes that cannot necessarily be found at stores like Walmart and Meijer, and her unique circumstance puts her at an advantage for attracting customers.

Neighboring stores have also had advantages when it comes to attracting customers to brave the gravel and construction in town due to their unique products and kind staff.

“We’ve got people that come from out of town–if they need music, they’ll get it here,” said Jesse Averill, manager of The Beat Goes On. The record store is one of the only places in town where people can find used vinyl records and CDs, so outside of accessibility limitations, the business has maintained its loyal customers during this time.

However, not every business has had the same luck with maintaining steady business. Candyman, another downtown business, was not as lucky as some of its neighbors.

“It hurt a lot,” Laufer said. “Some of our big holidays are Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, the whole summer with ice cream. It’s very tough for people to get down here right now. We’ve been very thankful for the people that have made it down here.”

Since the construction took place during some of the store’s essential selling seasons, potential customers may have opted for the more convenient option of buying candy or ice cream from a local chain down the road. However, Candyman prepared for the loss of profits, and its management feels well-prepared to get back up to speed once the road is reopened.

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(Top image: After months of construction, West Bend’s North Main Street has been newly paved and workers have started painting lines. Photo taken Tuesday by Ren Daute, Current Staff.)