The Downtown Update: Business Owners Weigh In
By Anne Scheck
Summertime and the livin’ wasn’t easy. At least not for Skippers, the seafood restaurant with a storied history in Salem -- and throngs of customers here, when it opened in Independence about 10 months ago.
July and August turned out to be tough on Skippers. Crowds that lined the streets during the Fourth of July didn’t make a difference. Even a sponsorship of "Duck Derby" didn't appear to increase business, said Pam Householder, who co-owns the restaurant with her husband, Cole. The holiday came and went “and we geared up for customers that didn't come," she said.
But this autumn Ms. Householder is seeing a shift, coinciding with the seasonal change. The eatery now seems on solid footing "if we stay this way," she said, noting that many more people have walked through the door this past September. Skippers, a 50-year-old brand name, has drawn patrons from as far away as Eugene to enjoy the fish, chowder and fried clams, Ms. Householder said.
As butcher-paper continues to darken some downtown windows, and as the locals begin to outnumber visitors in places like Skippers, opinions are divided about where the downtown is headed. Is the city on the cusp of a new boom? Or is Independence fighting a slow-moving bust, as some stores replace others in a familiar shuffle?
“I sometimes wonder if we, as a town, are trying to be something we’re not,” said Susan Guthrie, who opened her doors seven years ago at Elite Dry Cleaning and Tailoring.
Yes, Independence is trying to make itself "something bigger," said Ms. Householder -- and she said she admires that. But she feels she and her husband have been thwarted by public officials when they tried to put a large sign above the big glass-door entry-way at Skippers – only to be told the sign needs to be more historical in appearance. Even a second try failed. "I am doing everything I can," she said. "I'd like to think that the city will, too."
Householder and Ms. Guthrie, along with other merchants, are awaiting the construction of the first phase of Independence Landing-- a hotel on the banks of the Willamette River. It holds the promise of a new influx of customers from tourism.
However, the hotel currently is mostly an unfinished wood structure, even with Oregon’s notorious November rains looming. The target completion date is May or June next year, in time for summer 2019.
“We are pleased to report the project is on schedule and on time,” said Dwight Unti, president of Tokola Properties, Inc. Tokola, which recently closed on four lots of the river front a few weeks ago, plans townhouses and apartments after the hotel is built.
In an answer to a recent email inquiry, Mr. Unti noted that, with regard to the approaching winter weather conditions, “we and our sub-contractors are experienced with the challenges of winter construction in the Pacific Northwest.” They will take “appropriate steps to protect the building over the months ahead,” Mr. Unti said. Last year, in the online magazine Strong Towns, the challenges of small cities on a quest for downtown growth was analyzed. In the article “The Big Urban Mistake: Building Tourism vs. Livability,” the author, Arian Horbovetz, observed that it isn’t uncommon for residents to grow frustrated as “large-scale projects and big money deals begin to eclipse their desire for a livable downtown.”
As downtowns begin to fill in, the “pioneer residents” can begin to feel ignored, as projects aimed more toward tourism and attracting outside money begin to take shape, he wrote. “The local government promises that these projects will create jobs and make the city more attractive, meanwhile offering outside investors huge tax incentives, thus giving them an unfair advantage over local businesses,” he noted. Then a “rift” can begin to form, he concluded.
Recently, Timeless Antiques closed after less than a year. Also shutting its doors on Main Street was Three-Legged Dog, a restaurant-pub with eclectic, European-style fare that had drawn positive reviews. Ms. Guthrie has seen businesses come and go from her place in the back suite of the Little Mall on Main. She keeps plugging along by offering wide-ranging tailoring, along with dry cleaning -- though she’s subject to the same cyclic upticks and down-swings, too, she said.
“But I think people always need what I have to offer,” she said. However, orders for dry cleaning dip whenever the economy does. “Sometimes I wonder if that predicts what’s really going on (economically) before the stock market does,” she said.
Though many merchants are reluctant to put their business title – or their own name – to concerns about the price of their rental space, the monthly rent is a chief complaint among many, and a repetitive refrain. “The only thing I could shed some light on, from a landlord's perspective, is that some people -- and businesses -- forget that being a ‘landlord’ is also a form of business as well,” explained Bodie Bemrose, owner of several of the historic downtown building sites. “When you are in the landlord business, you have operating expenses and employees to pay,” he added.
Mr. Bemrose said he pays more expenses than bigger-city landlords do. For example, he finances exterior building-maintenance costs, as well as other fees not borne by many building owners. And, in other cities, these charges are passed on to the tenant. “We don't do that,” he said. Independence is a much smaller market, he explained, “and we know your typical, local small business can't afford all that.”
He also cautioned that contrasting rental pricing across properties can be misleading. To expect a corner location to be the same price as one on a side-street is not a fair comparison; Neither is expecting little or no price differential when intense renovation and complete refurbishment has been undertaken, he said.
Several new businesses – Valkyrie Wine Tavern, The Independent Ice Cream Shop and Picken Chicken – all opened on Main Street fairly recently. In an apparent move to put a staff member close to this evolving downtown center, the City of Independence appointed a downtown manager -- and rented space for her in Indy Commons, which offers various office tenancy arrangements at the reconditioned opera house. (The owner of Indy Commons was recently named as a new planning commissioner. See “The Civics Lesson” for a look at what this might mean in that voting body).
One downtown business that keeps growing: Same As It Never Was, which started at a relatively small corner location, then moved down to a larger corner storefront, and finally, in late September, relocated to the middle of the block – to increase square footage, once again.
At the Independence Grill and Bar, owner Greggery Peterson has noticed business has slowed down, but “I am still here,” he said. He plans to stay right where he is, even amid slumps like the one he is having this fall. If there is one characteristic all downtown merchants and restaurateurs seem to have in common, it is a deep appreciation for the people who live in Independence.
For one thing, the “locals” are generous, often “big tippers,” said Laura Guijarro, a long-time food-industry employee who now works at Breakfast & Burgers. For another, they’re very down-to-earth, said the restaurant’s manager, Chris Chapman.
And they’re the friendliest of any customers, noted Alena Cloud, who owns Picken Chicken (now at two locations). In fact, the town is such a good fit for Skippers-owners Cole and Pam Householder they plan to move to an apartment over the restaurant once it’s built by landlord Ted Baker.
The CIVICS LESSON: Oregon’s Law from the Watergate Era
Although the city’s decision to rent space at Indy Commons was completed long before her placement on the planning commission, it is possible that the owner of Indy Commons, Kate Schwarzler, will have to perform two tasks as a commissioner that her colleagues on the commission may be able to avoid. Ms. Schwarzler, who rents to the city and whose business is in the middle of downtown, would have to disclose a potential conflict-of-interest if there is an item that comes before the planning commission that could be seen to potentially affect her operation, even though the planning commission is only a recommending body. Also, if her business receives $1,000 or more in revenue from the city for the downtown space rental, she will be required to list that income on a state disclosure form, which is available for public viewing online. It’s all part of a series of regulations and statutes that were established in 1974, in the wake of President Richard Nixon’s Watergate investigation. At that time, Oregon passed laws aimed at transparency.
The INDY HOP: When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bobbin’
In their intrepid quest to help residents discover the great and diverse population of local birds, the Luckiamute Watershed Council (LWC) is offering two bird walks this month. If you’re like the last group, you may get to see stately Roosevelt Elk cross your path. This time around, it may be a Western Pond Turtle, according to Suzanne Teller, LWC’s outreach coordinator. What’s that, you say? These great hoofed creatures and slow-moving reptiles aren’t exactly birds? That’s one of the nice side effects of a bird walk – it’s more than chirps and wings. Led by Joel Geier, who can communicate with birds either by vocalizing their songs or by sounding their alarm calls, you are pretty much guaranteed to see avian splendor, from Ruby- or Golden-crowned Kinglets to that familiar feathered fowl, the American Robin. Dates are Saturday, Oct 6, and Sunday, October 21, 8 am - 12 pm. Lunch is made by a local bakery, named – how much more appropriate could this possibly be? -- The Ovenbird.
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