Perhaps I should explain. I've lived here for most of my life, and seen countless businesses come and go downtown. The reasons are myriad, from a lack of business flow downtown in general, to concepts that are poor fits for the community, to just plain old bad management. Most of the time, I just steered clear of such places. I rarely left reviews, and if people asked me what I thought, I generally only had one or two experiences to draw from.
So here's the thing. That doesn't help. It doesn't help the business owners figure out why people aren't flocking to their place. It doesn't help future patrons figure out the best way to approach the business for the first time. It doesn't help the community grow to allow two restaurants and three bars to thrive while the others are barely surviving.
Let's face it, Sanford is super cool. Because of our size, location, and history, we have the unique opportunity to build a distinct and cohesive community...but that takes everyone contributing. We have the power to shape the community we live, work, and play in, and we can do that by personally reaching out to the business owners, aka our neighbors!
So, back to those field trips. The idea is that I will be taking trips to downtown businesses and chronicling my experience as an individual. I will post my account of the visit on Sanford-Centric, and then address both my compliments and concerns directly to the business owner. I invite anyone interested to join me! I would love to get a variety if perspectives on the same visit. (After all, I can't try five entrees all in one sitting. I think.)
For the very first Sanford-Centric Field Trip, I'll be taking a very short journey downstairs to Kathleen's Klozet! If you would like to come along and lend your thoughts, please let me know and we will coordinate a date.
Here is her Facebook.
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