Local Business Owners Battling Back After Downturn

The National Bureau of Economic Research, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization recently declared the recent economic recession over in June 2009.

Researchers of the much-publicized study also determined the recession lasted 18 months, making it the longest economic downtown since the Great Depression. 

But sometimes what happens in a think tank stays in a think tank.  

In other words, the lofty economic data doesn't always translate to the realities of Main Street. On Wednesday, Patch chatted with local business owner and asked a simple question: Is the great recession over?

"I'm hoping it's true," said Heather Anderson, owner of Muse fashion boutique, 106 N. Marion St. "It's trending toward a recovery. People are spending money again."

Anderson chalks up Muse's recent success to honing in on her demographic and hitting the right price point. The strategy appears to be paying off  — two out-of-town customers snatched up nearly $200 worth of merchandise on Wednesday afternoon.

Just down the street at Carriage Flowers, owner Liz Newell said the flower business, which she took over in January 2007, followed national economic trends "almost exactly."

"When Lehman Brothers failed in 2008, we almost came to a screeching halt," she said.

The florist relies heavily on phone and Internet orders, but it's the space at 124 N. Marion St., which chews up a lot of the store's costs — industrial refrigerators keep cool the fresh flowers arriving at the store each week, while a revolving team of 12 work in the well-lit production room.

Business at the store has stabilized, Newell said, but is she out of the woods yet?

"Well, I can tell you we're not hiring," she said. "That's the ultimate sign of recovery for a business. The spending patterns have changed. People just can't afford the lavish events."

Around the corner at Pumpkin Moon, store owner John Eisner said his business has survived for 15 years selling kitcshy trinkets and catering to locals, but also attracting tourists.

"We're a smaller family owned store," he said, noting that the most expensive item in his store hovers around $50. "We've got a pretty good customer base. But everybody's hurting, too."

Up on Chicago Avenue, workers from Hometown Handyman were nailing molding to the ceiling and freshly painted walls of the former Villager Foods, the shuttered neighborhood grocer with a beloved butcher shop that closed December 2009.

Brent Showalter, owner of Hometown Handyman, is renovating the space to create an extension of Yuppie Puppy, the nearby dog grooming business owned by his wife Jill.

The Oak Parker's latest venture will provide 24-hour boarding care for dogs, complete with indoor puppy playgrounds, sleeping quarters and "family" rooms to accommodate multiple dogs.

The new store, located at 1135 Chicago Ave. is expected to open Oct. 17.

Showalter said the company will hire 26 new employees, which is only one example of the way new businesses can create a positive ripple effect on the local economy.

There's painters, heating guys, cooling guys, electricians, lawyers and landlords, all of whom are getting work because of this new business venture.

"Downturns create a great opportunity," he said. "But you have to have people willing to take a risk when it's the most risky."