Emporia Main Street helps bring new life to downtown

EMPORIA, Kan. (KSNT) — For many cities, downtown is one of their main attractions. 

That’s why the organization Emporia Main Street is dedicated to making sure their downtown thrives.

The city of Emporia has a lot to offer. But, its downtown didn’t always reflect that.

“The joke was you could fire a cannon off on Commercial street after five o’clock on a Saturday and you wouldn’t hit anything,” said Executive Director Casey Woods. “People started saying we need a better approach. “

That’s why Emporia Main Street was created, to turn that around.

“Towns that look to grow and retain their youth and become a destination for people to come to on a continual basis, they have to have a strong downtown,” said Woods. “That means they have to have an effective strategy.”

One way they’ve been able to do that is by bringing in new businesses to the area, while also strengthening existing ones.

For the owner of Radius Brewing Company Jeremy Johns, the resources and guidance provided by Emporia Main Street helped him turn his hobby of making beer into a business.

“They helped us tremendously in finding financing and just putting us in touch with people that had skills that we needed, we lacked,” said Johns. “We never could’ve done anything without all the help they gave us.”

Johns said a revitalized downtown not only draws in locals, but also those from out of town.

“We knew that if we were going to be successful, we needed to pull those people off of the interstate and give them a reason to stop in Emporia,” said Johns.

Bringing new life to downtown doesn’t just have an economic impact.

“I really feel like downtown is a real sense of community pride,” said Community Development Coordinator Jessica Buchholz. “People can really rally around their downtown. Downtown really belongs to everybody.”

The organization has also focused on bringing more events downtown as a part of that revitalization effort.

The group Hispanics of Today and Tomorrow (H.O.T.T.) will be hosting a Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival downtown on Saturday, Oct. 26.

To learn more about upcoming events, click HERE.