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Editorial: Another business flees the streetscape

by Matt Marquardt –

MASON CITY – Another business has left downtown Mason City.

Lillian’s, formerly located at 16 South Federal Avenue, has packed up and moved to Clear Lake.

“I would have gladly stayed in Mason City, it’s my hometown,” owner Twyla Steenblock told NorthIowaToday.com.

With all that has been made of the new streetscape area of downtown Mason City, the sign in the window at her former location stands out.  Mayor Eric Bookmeyer has spoken of the “cultural crescent,” some kind of personal IMAX movie he described where sidewalks are paved in gold, customers are steadily coming and going at all hours, a type of utopian “river city renaissance.”  Apparently the mayor’s dream skipped Lillian’s, and it is not reaching other businesses as well, NorthIowaToday.com has discovered.

Steenblock said she never envisioned driving all the way to Clear Lake everyday to run her store, but she had no choice.  “Mason City did absolutely nothing to help me stay in business,” she explained. “I was totally excluded from the ping pong ball drop over the holidays.  I made some calls about that, and then I was yelled at.  The streetscape project was terrible.  Then by August things just got worse.  Finally I found a great location in Clear Lake (419 Main Avenue), and they welcomed me with open arms.  We just had our grand opening and it was a huge success.”

The misery for downtown streetscape area businesses doesn’t stop there.  Another small business owner on North Federal Avenue described the streetscape project as “a nightmare” and said his business has not recovered.  “This is the slowest we have ever been,” said the owner, who wishes to remain unknown for fear of reprisal.  “It got worse in August if you can believe that.”

Another long-time business on North Federal that will not be named also informed me that “we are barely hanging on.”

The owner of Butcher’s, also on North Federal Avenue, told me a couple months ago that they will be moving their business about a mile north, well away from the streetscape area.

Add to that other businesses that left recently are a vacuum store, The Scooter Shop, Visit Mason City, and a martial arts shop, among others.

This is not to say that there are not success stories in the streetscape area; obviously new businesses have sprung up here and there.  Most notably the Historic Park Inn, State Street Deli, and Chop Restaurant as well as Oak Leaf Comics, just to name a few.  But to gloss over or outright leave out the fact that there are still businesses experiencing difficulty downtown is a fabrication.  Only when the full story is known can downtown truly succeed.  I for one am hoping the city and its partners like Main Street Mason City are finding new and creative ways to spur success for all businesses in Mason City, not just those located in a very small geographic area.

 

 

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