With a nearly 40-year ban on โhappy hourโ alcoholic drink specials lifted across the state of Indiana as of July 1, Downtown Evansville business owners decided to have their own โhappy hourโ fun, with a retail twist.
Mary Allen, owner of Sixth and Zeroย at 425 Main St., saw other small businesses play into a retail-centric happy hour while on a day trip to Louisville, Kentucky.
โIt got me thinking: With Indiana just having legalized happy hour again, why not have our own happy hour?โ Allen says.
Many other business owners, six in total, promptly reached out to join in on the idea, and Allen quickly agreed, forming an alliance with Emerald Design at 427 Main St.; River City Coffee + Goods at 223 Main St.; MEMO at 209 Main St.; Your Brotherโs Bookstore at 504 Main St.; and Joe Brewski Coffee at 10 N.W. Sixth St.
โThere is a community of small businesses with excellent shops that they have poured their hearts into, and this will be a great opportunity to get out and sample them,โ Joe Brewski Coffee owner Nate Templeton says.
They create new jobs, provide unique products, and treat you less like a customer and more like a friend, but lately, your local small businesses havenโt had it easy.
โI think itโs pretty evident that all small businesses throughout the whole city are closing or struggling,โ Heather Vaught, owner of River City Coffee + Goods and MEMO, says.
Downtown businesses are feeling the pinch especially from construction for The Vault, in the 400 block of Main Street. Business owners report of customers complaining of lane restrictions and piercing noise dampening their shopping experience.
โI think that the coolest thing about this is that itโs the businesses all coming together to develop this idea,โ Adam Morris, co-owner of Your Brotherโs Bookstore, says. โHopefully, it can bring some life back to Main Street that was taken by the construction.โ
Already planned through December, small businesses in the Downtown area will hold happy hour on the first Tuesday of every month from 3:30-5:30 p.m., each offering their own discounts and specials.
โWe just have a great community here,โ Emerald Design owner Whitney Muncy says. โI think we all believe in community over competition, and we all just want to see each other thrive.โ
