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Consultant To Study Blowing Rock’s Changing Retail Environment

Story by Anna Oakes

About 150 Blowing Rock residents and business owners gathered for a public meeting to give input on the future of retail in Blowing Rock. Photo by Anna Oakes An overflow crowd of about 150 people packed into the Blowing Rock School cafeteria Tuesday evening for a public meeting concerning the future of retail in downtown Blowing Rock. The meeting was held to gather public input for a $25,000 downtown retail study funded by the Tourism Development Authority.

HyettPalma, Inc., a national consulting firm specializing in the economic enhancement of downtowns and older business districts, will conduct the study.
“There is a sense that the mix of retail is changing and the mix of customers is changing,” said Keith Tester, a member of the Blowing Rock TDA. Tester is also co-owner of De Provence Et D’Ailleurs—a French gift and accessory shop in downtown Blowing Rock—and a member of the Blowing Rock Town Council.

“We want to try to get a better feel for what the retail environment looks like and how it is changing, and how people in the community [would] like to see it go,” Tester said.

At the meeting, participants were asked to comment on questions such as what downtown Blowing Rock should look like in five years, what mix of uses it should have, what customers Blowing Rock would like to attract, what goods and services should be available and what image the town would like to have. Dolores Palma, president of the consulting firm, facilitated the meeting.

Above all, attendees emphasized that the lack of parking in downtown Blowing Rock must be addressed, but the solutions proposed for fixing the problem were as varied as the shops along Main Street. People argued for and against parking decks, and others suggested satellite parking with shuttles transporting visitors to downtown. Business owners said that the parking problem is driving business away.

Many speakers said they want Blowing Rock to look the same or “pretty much the same” in five years as it does today. But participants also developed a lengthy list of new goods, services and infrastructure improvements they would like to see—buried power lines, brick sidewalks, bicycle racks, more public restrooms, a dog park, an auction house, an outdoor amphitheater, a farmers’ market, a recreational center, a gourmet butcher, a bakery, a drug store with a soda fountain, a dry cleaner, a wine and jazz bar and more.

One man pointed out that many of these businesses existed in Blowing Rock at one time but couldn’t survive. And Patrick Sukow, the principal of Blowing Rock School, noted that many of the suggested new businesses already exist in Boone. To attract visitors, Blowing Rock must be different, he said.

Some speakers said tourists are not staying in Blowing Rock as long as they used to—they come for a day or a half-day and then leave. To remedy this, the town must have better nightlife, and shops should stay open later, some said.

“We have got to see this town come to life after 5 o’clock,” said Christopher Brantley, owner of Christopher’s Wine and Cheese, a new shop on Sunset Drive.
Several participants said downtown should be a mix of retail and residences, but others said rent has to be more affordable for more people to live downtown.
And a couple of people expressed concern that more real estate companies are occupying spaces downtown where retail stores could go.

“With all the development going on in surrounding areas, we’re seeing a lot more real estate offices on Main Street that traditionally has been devoted to retail and restaurants,” Tester said before the meeting. Sue Thompson, owner of Christmas in Blowing Rock, said, “I’d like to see Main Street occupied by retail and not developers from other communities.”

Year-round Blowing Rock resident Sarah Gilley attended the meeting and on Wednesday said, ìAlthough the TDA sponsored the meeting, we appreciate a willingness to hear residentsí concerns. Thereís an active resident-based movement to scrutinize expansion. “As year-round residents, we advocate managed growth to retain the village atmosphere. Weíre confident that merchants and residents can succeed together in preserving our town," she said.

After the meeting, the consultants met with town council members at Town Hall to gather their comments. Council members said they appreciated the honest input from town members. Some of the requests made at the meeting have already been implemented, said council member Barbara Ball, but to make all the infrastructure improvements suggested, city taxes would go “sky high,” she said.

Tester said the retail market in Blowing Rock has changed. The town has to attract “high-end” consumers, he said. “They came 12 years ago, and they don’t come now,” he added.

“The environment has changed and changed dramatically,” he said. “We have to hear the issues, and we have to address them. If we don’t address it, we can consider ourselves a low-end tourist village.”

Blowing Rock’s motels lack the modern amenities that new hotels in Boone have, Tester also said. Council member Phillip Pickett, who owns two motels in Blowing Rock, agreed.

“He’s exactly right—we have got to update it,” Pickett said. He said occupancy rates are not as high as they used to be, largely because people do not vacation as long as they used to. “The traveling community has changed,” Pickett said.

HyettPalma will analyze the input collected from town meetings as well as data from focus groups and information supplied by the TDA. The TDA is funded through occupancy taxes paid by guests at inns, hotels and motels.

For more info, contact the Blowing Rock Visitor Center at 828-295-4636.