Front Street merchants unite

Published 12:00 pm Saturday, October 7, 2006

Merchants on historic Front Street in downtown Coupeville are putting their minds together to improve the business climate in their town.

They are forming an association where merchants would work together to encourage more shoppers to visit downtown Coupeville.

The association, called the Coupeville Historic Waterfront Association, comprises the businesses that lie within the town’s historic overlay district. It stretches down Coveland and between Front Street and Eighth Street.

“Our main focus is to revitalize downtown,” said association member Mary Alice Sterling.

She added the merchants also need to work on attracting more than tourists to the area as well as nearby residents.

“We really want to make Whidbey Islanders aware of what’s in Coupeville,” Sterling said.

The merchants are working with the State Downtown Revitalization / Main Street Program to come up with ideas to boost the downtown.

A representative from the program, which is operated through the state office of Community, Trade and Economic Development, met with local merchants earlier in the year and evaluated the environment in downtown.

The association will work together to come up with a “brand” for Coupeville to attract more people to local shops.

Business owners are excited about the association and the cohesiveness it will foster.

“If everyone is agreeable to that — it helps,” said Misty Blanton, owner of A Touch of Dutch, located in Mariners Court on Front Street.

Paul Whelan, owner of Kapaws Iskreme, said business has been good, but not good enough.

“It’s been pretty good down here but it’s time to take it up to another plateau,” Whelan said.

Business success in Coupeville is important because the owners are responsible for preserving the historic buildings, Whelan said.

Business owners are coordinating their efforts to take better advantage of the numerous events that come to Coupeville throughout the year.

The group wants to partner with such groups as the Island County Historical Museum and the Beach Watchers, who are using the lobby of the Coupeville Wharf to develop an interpretive center.

Merchants have also taken some practical steps to improve business. They are keeping their stores open later during major events and they are sprucing up the downtown area. Volunteers recently painted a picket fence and planted flowers in front of the long-vacant Baja Burritos shack.

Sterling said the association is preparing for the Christmas shopping season and members are working on receiving a nonprofit designation.

Downtown Coupeville has gone through several changes.

Business was hurt in Coupeville when North Main Street was replaced last year. Several businesses also closed around the beginning of the year.

Since then, storefronts have filled. What was once the Stray Dog and Penn Cove Antique Mall is now called Back to the Island and Mariners Court is undergoing a facelift and will have new stores, Sterling said.