Streetlights, people, flowers and traffic; these are all in abundance in downtown Spearfish. Day or night, Main Street is a bustling place.
“The Main Street Project really helped encourage business owners to come and fill any void we had,” said Downtown Business Association President Corey Brost.
The revitalization project, which was completed in 2011, transformed the decades old Main Street into an upscale comprehensive downtown area for both businesses and shoppers. The complete rebuild of three city blocks spanned from storefront to storefront. The project included new stoplights, signage, historic light fixtures, wider sidewalks, a clock tower, fire pit and resting benches at the intersection of Main and Hudson Streets.
Long time resident and previous small business owner, Karen Pummel credits the project for Main Street’s current appeal. “The Main Street project really did what it was supposed to do,” Pummel said. “It made Main Street shopper friendly from crossing the street to the plants and flowers along the sidewalks. We have it all.”
The Downtown Business Association’s mission is to increase the vitality of downtown businesses and keep it interesting for shoppers and business owners alike. The association works to provide events and activities throughout the year as well as keep the small town feel of the current Main Street.
“Many small community’s downtown districts are fading and we wanted to avoid that,” said Brost. “The downtown shopping experience is a thing of the past, but Spearfish has maintained that experience,” said Pummel.
The association was formed about nine years ago to keep the integrity of Spearfish’s downtown district.
“We get a lot of locals and people from neighboring towns like Belle Fourche, Sturgis, Sundance (WY) and Gillette (WY),” said Brost. “They find Spearfish closer than driving to Rapid City, and they can still get everything they are looking for.”
The Downtown Business Association also holds numerous events throughout the year to bring people to Spearfish: Downtown Friday Nights, Harvest Fest, Holidazzle Light Parade and the Community Chili Feed, just to name a few.
A shopping experience is different for everyone, but one thing that most agree on: it needs to be a positive, rewarding experience.
After 20 years of business in Spearfish, Maurices sees a lot of returning customers who know the type of experience they will get when they walk through the door.
“We connect with our customers similar to small businesses and we treat our customers well. We are corporate owned, but have a small town specialty store feel,” said Maurices Store Manager, Sarah Zautke.
Spearfish has a wide variety of shopping choices from specialty, niche shops to ranch supply, grocery and big box stores. In addition, it is the place to go when looking for a new vehicle! From Exit 8 to 17, Spearfish offers a wide variety of retail options. Historically, a community’s Main Street or business district offered a majority of the retail options in the community, we are fortunate that experience extends throughout a community.
Whether you are looking for a gift, a new shirt or sporting goods, Spearfish is a place to find what you are looking for without traveling too far or shopping online.
In 2013, Downtown Friday Nights will be held every Friday night from June 7 through August 30th. The free weekly activities include top-notch entertainment, vendors, extended store hours from shops on Main Street, food, drink and camaraderie.
The event started as “First Fridays” about seven years ago, held only the first Friday of each summer month. In the last three years, it has grown to a weekly summer activity drawing thousands of attendees.
“We are getting high quality entertainment and more businesses are staying open late,” said Downtown Business Association President Corey Brost. “It’s a big event, with a small town feel.”
The well-attended event is helping the small businesses get more traffic in their stores as well as helping utilize Main Street for a community gathering.
“One of the things that has been said to us numerous times by locals is “This has become THE thing to do in Spearfish” and “One of the best social events in the entire area”… so it is nice to get that kind of feedback,” commented Mark Kazmer, member of the Downtown Business Association. Mark also stated the there will be an expanded kids area and a revamped, more accessible Farmers Market for 2013.
Visit www.downtownspearfish.com for the schedule of the summer entertainers.