By Michael R. Moser / mmoser@crossville-chronicle.com
Tradition was broken this year at the annual Farm/City Breakfast as this year's speaker from the city told farm folks that those in town are facing similar survival challenges. Like their country cousins, city folks are finding new ways to survive.
While farm folks deal with rising costs of supplies, lower prices for their yield and live at the mercy of fickle weather, city folks are facing the same economic trials. Instead of being affected by the weather, small shop owners and Mom and Pop businesses face stifling competition from box stores.
All have their niche, Tonya Hinch told the breakfast crowd last week. And because of smart business men and women seeking out those niches, "Main Street is making a come back."
It won't happen overnight, Hinch noted, but the revival of downtown is more like a marathon instead of a sprint, and Hinch said DCI and herself are in it for the long haul.
Hinch was born and raised in Cumberland County and graduated from The University of Tennessee before diving into the corporate world and rapidly climbing the ladder of success in Cincinnati, Los Angeles and New York.
The ascent was so rapid that she set a goal of retiring at age 40, a goal and promise that she met and kept.
The next chapter in her life was returning to the community she loves and getting involved. In this case, she put her interest in revitalizing downtown into action by purchasing a former liquor store on Fifth St. and renovating it, making it an asset to the city.
"Financially, we live and die with sales tax," Hinch said, in describing how local government services are funded.
While the box stores and chain businesses have squeezed out many small business owners, there is room for both types of business to exist, Hinch said.
Challenge is finding the void that the chain stores do not fill. That void is filled by specialty shops who, studies have shown, can and do survive in downtown settings.
And it is smart to not only have those shops, but to patronize those businesses, Hinch said. She quoted from a study that reports for every $1 spent downtown, 68 cents is retained in the community. This compares to 43 cents spent with chain stores.
"If you shop in Knoxville or Cookeville or online, we get nothing," she added.
Crossville is ripe for specialty shop success because the county is already attracting an estimated half a million tourists each year, through Cumberland Mountain State Park, the Cumberland County Playhouse, numerous golf courses and the annual yard sale.
With the crowds already coming, DCI is making it a goal to attract specialty shops that will keep these visitors just a little bit longer with hopes that when they leave, their wallets will be a little bit lighter.
A downtown renovation is on the drawing board and DCI hopes to partner with the city and local businesses to create a new Cumberland County destination, and at the same time, replacing infrastructure that is out-of-date.
Plans call for underground utilities and target date for starting the first phase of a continuous project is set for the first quarter of 2011.
DCI is also busy approaching city life from a historical perspective and its first major project will be restoring the trooper office on the courthouse lawn (formerly DeRossett Insurance building) and turning it into the world's smallest museum. Museum topic? Crab Orchard Stone (Tennessee Quartzite), of course.
DCI is also in the process of copying and preserving old photos of Crossville scenes from bygone days, and with recording audio and video history from local residents who remember the way it was.
To this end, monthly walking tours are held downtown, treating visitors and home folks alike to a taste of the way things used to be. The walk through history is gaining support and has received rave reviews, Hinch said.
With buildings like the old education building (now the military museum), the courthouse, depot, old library and the small rock building on the courthouse lawn to anchor the way, the way is being paved for an influx of specialty shops to sweeten downtown as a destination to spend time and money.
It equates, Hinch noted, much like agri-tourism birthed corn mazes, pumpkin patches and day on the farm venues and helped make a difference for many small farmers.
DCI is selling Downtown Dollars to promote visiting the local Main St. shops and these bucks, that can be redeemed at many businesses, can be purchased from DCI. Their office is located on the second floor of the old First Baptist Church building on E. First St.
Thanksgiving feast facts
The American Farm Bureau Federation reports that the average cost for a Thanksgiving dinner for ten people — turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, candied yams and pumpkin pie — is approximately $42.26. The average cost of the feast has gone up about ten percent. This year's dinner cost is up $4.16 from last year's average of $38.10.
