ATHENS, Ohio — More than 150 people turned out to a local town hall held at the Athens Community Center on Wednesday night, organized by activist group Grassroots Ohioans and Athens business Cool Digs Rock Shop.
The public forum comes on the heels of repeated public outcry by Saraquoia Bryant, whose business Cool Digs Rock Shop, at 13 W. Union St., has suffered amid controversial construction on the Lostro Building in Uptown Athens.
Attendees: Chain stores crowd out local business
At the meeting, local business owners said the rise of chains and big-box stores threaten their enterprises and are eroding Athens’ unique character.
Barbara Stout, who owns Athens Underground at 90 N. Court St., described Court Street as Athens’ former “vibrant business district.” However, she believes it has lost its “funk,” due to corporate business encroachment. She said her business is “hanging on by my teeth,” and that her landlord is gracious to her circumstances.
James Wanke, who owns Silver Serpent Exotic Gifts at 55 N. Court St. and Athens Tool Company at 750 E. State St., said, as a landlord, he specifically chooses not to rent to corporations. “Big box stores kill local jobs,” he said.
Stout also mentioned that her property bordering the recently developed land near Athens’ second Chipotle on East State Street has negatively affected the property’s hillside. The city, Stout said, focuses more on “big business coming in … rather than supporting who’s here.”
“Council doesn’t get it,” Stout said. “We’re becoming a small, isolated version of any large town [with chain stores].”
Street closures a symptom of city issues
Stout said that street closures negatively affect her Court Street business, whether it be closures across town or Uptown. So do events and Uptown festivals. She said festival-goers don’t tend to patronize her business, but rather ask to use the restroom or ignore the business entirely.
Stout also drew attention to the city’s pursuit of an income tax increase this year. The income tax hike would be comparable to Columbus suburb Upper Arlington, she said, “And Athens ain’t Upper Arlington.”
Milena Miller, who wore a Park’s Place T-shirt in honor of that closed business, said the pandemic cannot be the sole cause for the rash of Athens small business closures over the past five years.
Miller said the city is not run efficiently, pointing to recent thefts in public offices, including the Athens Metropolitan Housing Authority, theft from the county auditor’s office, and the recent Athens cyber theft.
“I don’t want to pay for this anymore,” Miller said.
In his years of doing business in Athens, Wanke said he “can’t recall the city helping us.”
Barb Campagnola echoed Wanke’s sentiments: “I don’t know what to do. Nobody seems to listen or care. I don’t want to live in corporate Athens.”
Damon Krane, who operated a food truck in Athens, said city and Ohio University decisions — such as opening its own food court — have killed Athens’ once-thriving mobile food vendor scene, which used to be predominantly located near College Green along West Union Street.
Krane said that he was once part of a 13-member mobile food vendor association, all of whose members have since “went out of business or left Uptown.”
Bryant said it’s likely too late for Cool Digs’ location on West Union to survive. Her son, Miles Hadley, an Ohio University senior, said he’d be leaving the area after he graduates this year, due to lack of economic opportunity.
“To see my mother — my one parent I have left — struggle in this town with a local business, is ridiculous to me,” Hadley said. “There’s a level of responsibility that I think city officials in every place have, and I feel like I’m supposed to believe in that, and I’m supposed to believe in the idea that things are going to get better in Athens … but I feel like I’ve been given nothing to believe in.”
Elected officials: Patronize local businesses
Among the large crowd were Athens County Commissioner Chris Chmiel, Athens Mayor Steve Patterson, and Athens City Council members Sam Crowl, Micah McCarey, Solveig Spjeldnes, Jessica Thomas, Alan Swank and Michael Wood.
Wood, 3rd Ward, and Chmiel mentioned their own experiences running small local businesses: Wood owns Republic of Athens Records, at 30 E. State St., and Chmiel owns Integration Acres.
Both encouraged residents to support local businesses. Chmiel pointed to the Athens Farmers Market and Athens Art Guild as thriving community staples that benefit small businesses.
“We vote with our dollars,” Chmiel said.
Wood noted, “You don’t have to give in” to buying from big box stores and chains. “You do have power.”
But Athens resident Abby Neff pointed out that while people may support and prefer small businesses, lack of disposable income makes it difficult to patronize them.
“There’s not jobs here. There’s a housing shortage, people are cold, people are starving,” Neff said. “Why and how did we get here in the first place?”
Chmiel said he was inspired to run for office because he had the same questions about local businesses vs. chains and corporations.
“When I ran for office, originally, one of my main platform topics was this exact same topic,” Chmiel said. “How do we support local businesses? Why did we give all these tax breaks to the big corporations? It’s kind of baked into the way things are done right now. I think for us to solve this problem, we’re going to have to be very innovative.”
Swank, 4th Ward, who chairs the city’s planning and development committee, pledged to meet with concerned Uptown business owners to learn more about their struggles and concerns.
Potential solutions and looking forward
Attendees had several suggestions for ways to include residents and business owners in economic development initiatives.
In the immediate term, attendees suggested that the city inform businesses about street closures and events in advance by certified mail to ensure communication. One man specifically asked that important announcements be made not only on Facebook.
One woman suggested the city implement an “anti-franchise corridor”; another advocated for a tax on visitors (the city already collects a transient guest tax).
Given the impact of recent construction projects — such as sewer improvements on West Union Street — on local businesses, the city should think ahead, said Keith Chapman, owner of Keith Chapman Jewelry Design at 8 S. Court St. Before embarking on a development project, he said, the city should ask itself, “How are we doing to do that project with zero interruption?”
Bryant said she’d like to form a small business coalition as well.
Attendees had more far-reaching ideas as well. Both Bryant and local attorney Don Wirtshafter mentioned launching a citizens ballot initiative — an “Athens Administrative Accountability Act of 2025” — to empower residents to exert more direct control over city government.
Bryant cited sections of the city’s Community Bill of Rights and Water Supply Protection ordinance that mention residents’ “right to self-government” and the sovereignty of the people. The ordinance exemplifies the city’s ability to exercise home rule, she said.
Wirtshafter talked about community benefit agreements, which give communities a legal stake in development by requiring developers and governments to include community input on projects and in conversations around development. Wirtshafer said the agreements — which require developers to identify benefits, potential harm and how to mitigate that harm, with enforcement and penalties for violations — are used widely across the country, especially in federal projects.
Organizers provided a draft community benefit plan. Photos by Keri Johnson.
Mayor Patterson challenged the idea of an epidemic of business closures, listing businesses that opened recently. He suggested that businesses may be struggling because of fluctuations in OU’s student population, inflation and “limited access to capital.”
Patterson suggested that business owners nearing or considering retirement partner with OU’S Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service to help develop business succession plans. He also voiced support for the formation of a small business committee to work alongside Athens City Council.
Bryant said there would likely be a follow-up meeting in the future. Meanwhile, forum organizers are issuing a survey to gather more community input.
Disclosure: Abby Neff is a freelance reporter for the Athens County Independent.
Addition: This story has been updated with the names of two additional Athens City Council members who attended the meeting.
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