Downtown Enumclaw: What’s Your Vision?

This is the fourth Christmas our family has been running Young’s Enumclaw Flowers and Gifts on Cole St. in downtown Enumclaw and the beginning of our fourth year in business. During this time we have tried hard to be more than simply a retail store, but also good neighbors.  We love it when kids look forward to running our train in the window at Christmas, and we work hard year around to support local activities. 

The body of Enumclaw is the people that live here.  The brains of Enumclaw are the industries and businesses that employ the majority of people.  The soul of Enumclaw is its many fine and well-attended churches, but what give a city its heart is its downtown-----and---it’s the heart of Enumclaw we are concerned about.

Most everyone that plans a trip, or even just one into Seattle, knows where they want to go, but needs a plan to get there (what car to drive, what bus to take, what road to drive, where to park and so on).  The destination comes first then the plan to get there. 

The same is true for the future of downtown Enumclaw.  A clear vision is needed for what the downtown should become, whatever that vision is.  Once a vision is in place, then a plan can be put together to get to that vision.  No matter what that vision is, it can only be realized by a cooperative effort between the city, the Chamber, and the merchants that are in the downtown area. 

So what is the vision for downtown?  What are the choices? 

Across the US all towns like Enumclaw undergo the same transformation.  Chain stores that have the advantage of ordering in bulk can easily outprice the local stores that used to make up the bulk of retail sales for so many years in the downtowns.  So---away goes the local hardware stores, the drugstores, the bookstores, the lumber yards, floral shops----the ones that served the local population.

This isn’t necessarily bad.  Everyday necessities become cheaper, and there are often more product choices.  What are left are the stores that the chains haven’t figured out how to replace (yet): the barber shops, beauty salons, spas, karate places, etc.  But, the downtown would not have much of a heart with only those shops.

What give a downtown heart in this chain store era are the interesting specialty shops that spring up in the empty storefronts, the fun cafes, the nooks and crannies to poke around in, and the ambiance of the downtown as a whole.

Local people can support barber shops etc., but tourists are needed to help support all the specialty shops.  Tourists make it possible for those businesses to be available for all of us.

Enumclaw (Buckley also) is lucky in that there are a million potential tourists only an hour or so away.  Most little towns have to lure tourists from far away, and those that can’t find their downtowns are left with empty storefronts and no heart.

Right now downtown Enumclaw is like a cook that has a brand new kitchen, a pantry stuffed with food and every cookbook possible-----but-----is having trouble putting together a meal. 

Hopefully this Christmas was the bottom of the downturn in Enumclaw and the future will only be better. However, it would be easier for us to push forward into another year (maybe again lacking in monetary compensation?) if we knew that there was a vision for the downtown area, a plan to get there and hope for the future.

So---- what is your vision of what downtown Enumclaw should look like in five years?  Let’s discuss it.  Once we have a vision, then we can work on a cooperative plan to realize it