Merced Main Street group extends invitation to all

The Merced Main Street Association has kicked off a new weekly meeting, one in which the group hopes to be able to answer questions and toss around ideas in a casual setting.

Daniel Kazakos, association president, started Wednesday what he said will be a weekly two-hour session around a table at Five Ten Bistro on Main Street. On weeks he’s away, he said, another member of the association will be waiting to chat with anyone interested in talking about downtown business.

Kazakos, who is also chief executive officer of spa retailer Country Comfort, and others at the first meeting tossed around small and grand ideas on how to bring dollars to the downtown. They talked about getting international visitors to stop in town on their way to or from Yosemite National Park and ways to team with Atwater’s downtown, among other ideas.

The meetings will be held at the restaurant in hopes that the comfortable setting will draw more people, he said. The association is also making an effort to reach out to businesses beyond the traditional downtown.

Merced’s downtown is bounded by G and V streets, the Union Pacific railroad tracks and the alley north of 19th Street. The more than 500 businesses in that area pay double taxes on their business licenses and the money is pooled into a downtown fund.

“We would love to get more (businesses) from off of Main Street,” Kazakos said.

As the city continues to grow northward, he said, it would likely be in the best interest of businesses from Highway 99 to Bear Creek to join forces with those in the more traditional downtown.

A few weeks ago, the association was handed oversight of the roughly $60,000 collected by the downtown tax, though the City Council will have to approve the spending.

Those interested in the meetings can drop in between 7 and 9 p.m. any Wednesday at Five Ten Bistro, 510 W. Main St.

For questions or to reach members of the association, email mercedmainstreetassociation@gmail.com or call Kazakos at (209) 261-4274.

This story was originally published January 30, 2015 at 2:36 PM with the headline "Merced Main Street group extends invitation to all."