Cafe out, Sex Toys in?

I try not to give a lot of focus to issues that generate negative energy, but  I can't help but think a little bit about 2 recent occurrences in Tarboro's downtown.  Our downtown consists of basically 4 city blocks of Main Street so we're not talking about huge area.

As a town trying to grow and attracting new people, we've been blessed with a well-intentioned entrepreneur, Dave, owner of the Main Street Cafe' and founder of the Underground Pub (Our downtown's only night-time establishment.)  The Main Street Cafe' is in a tiny space so even if coffee and sandwich traffic flowed through in a constant stream, Dave would probably not be making BIG bucks.   In the unused space below the coffee shop, Dave opened The Underground Pub. I know from talking with him that he invested his heart and soul as well as a great deal of money to make the Pub something really cool in Tarboro.

Well, this week Dave told me that his rent was raised, raised enough to make it difficult if not impossible for him to stay in business at that location.  He also was informed that a noise ordinance was going to be enforced beginning March 1st. No music after 10pm.  There go the bands, the karaoke, the pub.  I have to wonder why he is being pushed out.  Is it a personal thing or do the owners of the building have other plans for the space?  Time will tell.

During the same time, a brand-new downtown business opened on Main St. I won't give them any advertising by mentioning their name but I will tell you that the business is adult only and consists of DVDs and "toys".  ON MAIN STREET!!!

I did go to the town office and talked with the town planner, but I was told that there are no ordinances prohibiting such businesses.  Ok...ok.... I know as well as everybody in this town, that if the town officials didn't want something here, it wouldn't be here. 

I'm determined to not give it much energy. Within 2 months it should be out of business and gone. If not, the local church ladies will set up their lawn chairs across the street and photograph everyone that goes near the front door of the place.

I will continue to plan Tarboro's 1st Second Saturday, which may have to be in April, and look forward to the wonderful things that will occur in our beautiful little town.  I will visualize prosperity and unity and I will feel the energy of a community that is in the flow of life.  I will visualize our town exactly as I want to see it and it will happen.  How is not for me to know or to even think about.  It will happen.

Update on Friday, March 7, 2008 at 08:24PM by Grassroots of Tarboro

I need to set the record straight on the situation with the Main Street Cafe. 

You've heard the saying, "No matter how flat you make a pancake, it still has two sides".  So does every story.

I was only given one side of the story about the closing of the cafe and I didn't have my details straight.

I'd like to share with you the other side of the story:

"Tarboro Area Development Corp. owns the Church Street - Bridgers buildings. TADC is the non profit that raised over 3 million to save the two buildings. There is a substantial loan still outstanding on the building and the cost to maintain it is more than the income coming in from rents. Dave needed a dumpster for his restaurant and TADC provided it for one year free. The cost of the dumpster is $100.00 per month and Dave is the major user. The rent was raised from $1,150.00 per month for the three spaces that he has (The coffee shop, the Pub and the Office) to $1,300.00 per month, an increase of $150.00 which is mostly offset by the cost of the dumpster. . . . The noise situation is also unfortunate. There are 11 apartments in the two buildings and the renters have complained about the noise, threating to move out. TADC can not afford for that to happen."

Planning Tarboro Second Saturdays

 

HELP PLAN & SPONSOR - SECOND SATURDAYS IN TARBORO

The "Informal Gathering of Downtown Businesses" had a good response to the 2007 Christmas promotion DISCOVER TARBORO so we’re gathering energy to do more events in 2008.

We want Tarboro to be vibrant and inviting to visitors. We’re thinking bigger and better so this year we need more local brains, talent and energy to put together some great events. We will now be an INFORMAL GATHERING OF TARBORO BUSINESSES ARTISTS & CITIZENS.

The first informal gathering for 2008 will be on Thursday Morning, February 21^th at 8:30 am in the back seating area of On The Square Restaurant. 

This time and place may not be good for everyone who wishes to participate so please contact me, Betty or Destin and we’ll do our best arrange a next meeting time and place that works for the most people .

Since we are just starting out, I thought it might be easier if I suggest a basic plan of action to our expanding group of interested participants and we could then all work together on details.

The idea is for SECOND SATURDAYS in Tarboro. Every month, starting in March (or April) of 2008, on the 2^nd Saturday of the month, Tarboro will host a slew of coordinated activities.

Here are some ideas:

1. Town-wide yard sale: From 7am to noon (at the latest), churches, non-profit groups and individuals will hold fund-raising yard sales. This is best as a coordinated effort where all participating add their names & locations to a master list that can easily be distributed to potential shoppers.
2. The downtown merchants hold sidewalk sales in front of their businesses.
3. The downtown restaurants are open for business and may provide outside seating
4. The Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center will be open.
5. The non-merchant businesses (law offices, credit unions, barber shop, beauty shops, etc.) each sponsor a local artist and use the walls of their establishments as a gallery to display the artwork. The displays will last all month, to be changed for the next Second Saturday. These businesses may choose to not be open on Saturdays , but the "galleries" will be available for viewing during their regular business hours. A list of participating businesses and the artists they are sponsoring will be made available. It may be considered that on one specified evening (Second Friday? / Second Saturday?) a gallery tour is offered from 6pm to 9pm and each business holds a mini-reception for the artist whose work is displayed.
6. JURIED Artists, artisans and craftspeople will rent spaces in front of unused storefronts on Main Street (and perhaps spaces in the Courthouse Square) to display and sell their creations. A small fee of $10.00 to $20.00 each will be collected to help cover promotional expenses.
7. Local musicians, gospel groups and musical groups will perform in the Courthouse Square throughout the day and into early evening. Additional musicians are welcomed and encouraged to play on street corners along Main Street.
8. Depending on river conditions we may invite a kayak/canoe rental company to River Park.
9. A children’s mini-fishing "tournament" can be held on the banks of the Tar River at River Park.
10. Selected food vendors will be allowed to set up and sell at River Park to encourage picnicking.
11. Non-profit groups will coordinate their events (historic house tours, pancake suppers, fish fry, etc.) to occur on Second Saturdays and Second Saturday evenings.
12. The town common can be host to "Let The Games Begin", mini-tournaments of Chess, Checkers, Monopoly and Scrabble.

Expenses to be addressed are:

1. advertising and promotion
2. paid musicians or audio equipment rental
3. port-a-potties (the number needed varies )

Income sources are:

1. The participating businesses
2. The artisans & crafters
3. Public donations
4. Vendor fees

Any additional ideas, input, comments, suggestions, etc. are welcomed and greatly appreciated.

A Rare Night Out in Tarboro

I'm not one for social gatherings but my friend, Shirley had mentioned that there would be a reception for Robert Whitehead's collection of African-American art on display at the Blount-Bridgers House.  I know Shirley and I know Robert and it is a short walk from my front door so I broke my stay-at-home pattern and mingled. 

Bob's collection was quite impressive but I was even more impressed with the young men playing jazz.  They were excellent and had a very professional presence. I was astounded to learn that they were students at our local high school.  Tarboro... with a Capital T and that stands for Talent.

The mingling was a little uncomfortable at first. I didn't see anyone I recognized except Robert and the awkwardness of being alone amidst strangers drew me  like a wallflower to a chair where I could sit and watch the musicians.  Then Shirley arrived, and Rhonda, and Robert came over to chat. I was introduced to Doris(?) who told me that the Walltown Children's Theatre group from Durham will be performing Waiting for Martin in Tarboro on February 7th at the Keihin Auditorium at the community college. They will put on two performances, one at 9:45 am and the other at 7 pm. Admission is just $5.00 at the door.  I've marked my calendar and plan to attend.  Knowledge of the Walltown Children's Theatre has come into my life when I've been thinking a lot about why doesn't Tarboro have a black theatre group.   I don't mean all-black, only-black, no other races allowed. That's not what I'm talking about. I mean with the large African-American population living in Tarboro and Edgecombe County, I've been wondering why some talented concerned citizens within the black community have not organized a local theatre group.  We have the Tar River Players which has members of all races. Is that enough? 

What I'm coming to believe is that I arrived in Tarboro just as a wave of positive change was taking place.  A number of the progressive things that Tarboro citizens are currently working on, just got started within the past few years.  So it is not that Tarboro doesn't have THIS or THAT, it's that Tarboro doesn't have it YET. Wonderful things are in Tarboro's future. 

Tarboro and Internet marketing

It was mentioned in the Daily Southerner that a marketing company would be presenting a proposal to the town council on Friday.  The primary purpose of the proposal meeting was to determine the cost of revamping the town web site to draw new people to town through the world wide web.

That subject is right up my alley so I visited Sam Noble's office and asked if I could please attend the meeting.  He hemmed and hawed a bit but did agree IF I could sit quietly and just listen.

I had a chance to speak with Councilman Dr Steve Hoard before the meeting on Friday morning and share with him a few of my thoughts regarding the web site redesign.  Being a relative newbie in Tarboro (2 1/2 years) and an unknown to the town officials it was comforting to be known by at least one councilmember as a truly concerned and somewhat capable citizen.

The presentation amounted to much of what I had guessed it would be.  Two very charming women from a Raleigh marketing firm talked to the room about what they could do for the town and how much it would cost.  The first thing that struck me was that these women only knew the surface of Tarboro.  Nancy mentioned and it was in the printed materials about Tarboro's "thriving downtown" as a draw to town.  We who live here and own downtown businesses know that our downtown is NOT thriving, it is "emerging".  It is just now starting to take shape.  It is looking ahead to a time when it IS thriving.  Our downtown can be, and hopefully WILL be a reason for people to move here but it honestly is not there yet.   The people that we are trying to attract are coming from outside of the area, most from outside of the Southern States.  They have traveled, they have visited small towns. They have seen thriving downtowns. We will not be able to fool them from long with the pretty, and clean but non-vibrant facade of our downtown.

The next topic of discussion was about branding (once again, right up my alley of interest).  The presenter seemed to think our existing brand "A Front Porch Kind Of Town" was suitable and adequate.  Her company would use that slogan along with an updated version of our town lamp-post to create a portal page linking to each of the websites pertaining to branches of the town, the Chamber website, the town government, real estate, etc.   

YUCH!!!  For this unique, valuable and visionary approach to getting Tarboro seen on the web this company would only be charging about $5,000!!!!   I had a very difficult time biting my tongue.

The next step in the presentation got even better (said through clenched teeth).  For a mere $17,500 (estimate) the marketing company would redo the pages of the town's website.  Here she touched on the topic of search engine optimization but slid by the subject briefly stating that it was "too complex", "very expensive" and that the town would have to hire a seperate  company to manage the ongoing SEO efforts.  In other words, "not included in the $17,500."

She went on to discuss how to advertise the website with paid advertising and an estimated budget of $25,000 for pay per click, banner ads, etc.    Inside my head I was screaming, "Arrggghhhh!!!!!"

Don't get me wrong. Both ladies of the marketing firm gave an excellent presentation. The town council would not have asked for this information if they themselves knew how and what to do. It was only logical that they "call in experts" to get the job done.  My problem with the whole kit and kaboodle is that the marketing company is a money-making entreprise. Their goal is to make money. The more ignorant we (as the town of Tarboro) are concerning web sites and internet marketing, the more the marketing company can charge.

In this instance, the final estimate for just the web site stuff, not any print advertising, came to $52,000.  I'd love to make $52,000 promoting Tarboro, BUT, mostly I want Tarboro to be well-promoted.