Tuesday night is shopping night

WORTHINGTON — Once upon a time, Saturday night was when the stores in downtown Worthington stayed open late. It was the evening when the farmers came to town to do their shopping, and the city center was a hubbub of activity.

Eventually, the night to stay open became Friday, giving store employees more time off on the weekend. The change was controversial at the time, but people got used to it.

Now, the evening hours are about to change once again for some downtown stores. The Retail Committee of the Worthington Area Chamber of Commerce is urging its members to stay open on Tuesday nights to capitalize on the popularity of the downtown farmers market.

“After a successful new downtown farmers market last summer, we saw a lot of increased traffic downtown, which is exciting,” said Amanda Walljasper, owner of Schafer’s Health Center. “I stayed open open last year during the market, and Tuesdays were my busiest day. A lot of out-of–town people come in on Tuesdays to go to the market and grab the stuff they need to grab.”

“We are hoping to encourage shoppers to use the downtown area and also open up the opportunity to any business interested,” concurred Maria Thier, owner of Li’l Wizards and chairwoman of the Retail Committee. “We’ve got quite a few onboard now, and some are talking to staff and hoping to staff it.”

Currently, some downtown retailers stay open on Friday evenings and some do not. The Retail Committee surveyed local businesses about being open on a different night.

“We are hoping it will bring more people to shop in Worthington and give other people who come to the farmers market a chance to visit our stores while they are here,” said Darlene Macklin, executive director of the Worthington Area Chamber of Commerce.

Stores that have agreed to participate will be open Tuesday nights beginning June 1. Since they already have an established Friday night customer base, a few stores have opted not to participate in the Tuesday evening hours and will continue to be open on Friday nights, while others will try being open on both Tuesday and Friday evenings.

When the farmers market gets under way on June 22, a complete list of stores that are open on Tuesday evenings will be posted in the market area. However, the Tuesday evening hours will continue after the farmers market is done in the fall.

“This will be ongoing,” emphasized Walljasper. “This will be the late night, not just during the farmers market. We’ve made the decision to commit to this, and for people who come here from out of town or work here and live out of town, it’s important for the businesses to stay open one night, but we want to make it worthwhile.”

Local merchants hope the new evening hours will give people more of a reason to stay in town and spend their dollars in Worthington.

“It’s all about shopping locally, giving people an opportunity to do their shopping here,” said Thier. “The ways of shopping are different now, and for people who come to town to work, we want to offer them the opportunity to finish their shopping while they are here instead of having to make a special trip to town. We’re trying to meet their needs.”

Tags: news, worthington, downtown, chamber