Historic downtown district sees business boom

POCAHONTAS, Ark. (KAIT) – Despite financial downfalls throughout the place, the historic downtown Pocahontas is coming alive with new faces all about the town square.

Just about every new small business delivers a fresh new, fascinating new spot for locals and vacationers.

“This is a great small retained magic formula town. Within the up coming 6 months to a year, you are going to arrive down Highway 67 and end in Pocahontas. There is some treasures down here in Pocahontas,” Donald Smith stated.

His eatery, Chef D’z Seize-N-Go, is the most recent small business in the sq., but he very likely won’t keep that title for long.

Cally Shore with the Randolph County Chamber of Commerce reported they are making a concerted exertion to convey in new enterprises to revive the historic district.

She additional the pandemic confirmed why it is significant to assistance the neighborhood financial state, and the boom in company demonstrates how fully commited their inhabitants are.

“Our neighborhood has constantly been incredibly supportive. And I truly feel like that has stayed the exact same all through the pandemic,” Shore mentioned. “The local community comes with each other and wishes to assist the mom and pop firms so that we can remain afloat and retain growing.”

“I understand yrs back, men and women ended up employed to going downtown, but now they are not. So we’re hoping to get them to arrive back again downtown and explore some of the new corporations,” Glenn Clark, proprietor of Mildred’s Spice Corner, mentioned.

Clark’s store opened back again in 2021, and inspite of the pandemic, he’s not the only 1.

Several outlets in the sq. opened both in advance of the pandemic or just immediately after it started out, and still, their proprietors have managed to overcome the odds.

“We’ve seriously grown considering the fact that COVID. The complete downtown has begun to improve given that then,” Carrie Barnes, proprietor of Gypsy Girl, mentioned.

Barnes’ company opened 6 many years ago but briefly shut down in the course of the pandemic.

However, thanks to too much to handle group help, Gypsy Woman is nonetheless standing.

For Brent Martin, owner of Murphy Structure Corporation, the pandemic noticed him change his organization model. His marriage setting up business enterprise now incorporates dwelling décor.

“It was scary. It was really scary. Through COVID, it was extremely challenging but since then it has started off booming,” he said.

Many new companies are also on their way or in the is effective in accordance to Shore, together with new retail areas, eating places, and even a feasible Airbnb place.

Misti Stowers, the proprietor of Buttercream Bakery, reported the sense of neighborhood goes a extended way.

“The companies on the sq., we’re all good close friends. We consider to market every single other and support each and every other even so we can. And we appear forward to the progress which is continue to to appear,”she said.

Enterprise homeowners in downtown Pocahontas all claimed they really do not want to try out to replicate the successes of cities like Jonesboro or Paragould. As a substitute, they want to pleasure by themselves on being a distinctive place with corporations you cannot come across any where else.

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