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Monday, Nov. 02, 2009

Downtown Merced rebounds with influx of new shops

New businesses include cafe, bike shop, comic store and bakery

Merced's Main Street may look more prosperous in the coming months.

In a sign that downtown Merced may be regaining its place as the center of Merced, at least seven new store-front businesses have opened or are set to open in the coming months.

A cafe, a bike shop, a comic store and a bakery, among others, will soon be part of Main Street's growing family of businesses.

Frank Quintero, the city's development manager, said the new businesses coming to downtown are a sign that there's at least a small boost of confidence in the local economy. He said the wheels are also being greased by some local landlords. Some property owners are being more flexible than usual with rents and even helping out with improvements on the properties, he said.

The new stores include several firsts, a few additions and one replacement.

Red Sky Comics, which may replace the closed Cop-A-Comic near Main and M streets, could be the town's only comic shop. Coffee Block is set to open on the 500 block of Main Street. Sweet Temptations, scheduled to open on the 400 block of Main Street, will be the only bakery in Merced. And a new bike shop, Giga Bikes on Main Street near M Street, will be one of several bike stores in town.

Gar Daniel who owns Giga Bikes as well as a salon on Main Street called Vin One, said he decided to open his new business on Main Street because "it's the best place to do anything." Not only does it have the most foot traffic, he said, but he believes that on the north side of town, you have to have a certain kind of image, he said. He wants his shop to have a less corporate, more independent, feel.

While Daniel, who's been on Main Street for five years, is optimistic about downtown, he added that you can never predict which stores will last. He has seen a lot of businesses come and go in the last five years.

Amanda Bowers, owner of Sweet Temptations, a bakery slated to open in late November on Main Street, said she chose downtown as a site for her business because it's where people go. "With all the new stuff that's coming in down here, I think in the next couple years this place is going to be huge," said Bowers. (Bowers is the wife of the Sun-Star's online editor, Brandon Bowers.)

Eddie La Plante, who has opened a new spa downtown called Canal Street Spa, said he thinks Main Street is turning a corner. He said that unlike many North Merced chain stores with large overhead, smaller downtown shops can handle downturns better. In addition to existing shops, a lot of new business people are taking a chance right now, he said. The commercial real estate broker said he deals with a lot of properties downtown, and there's a buzz of activity. "For me the allure is probably going back to downtown," he said.

Reporter Jonah Owen Lamb can be reached at (209) 385-2484 or jlamb@mercedsun-star.com.