A local merchant worked his first job at age 15 at Ace Hardware on South Chestnut Street in downtown Seymour.
It’s where he learned how to run a business and sell products to customers, Mark Hopkins said.
Being downtown was once a benefit to small businesses, he said, and he believes it can be again.
That’s why he and his wife, Lauren, have decided to move their gun store, Bite the Bullet, from its U.S. 31 North location to Second Street and Indianapolis Avenue, in the heart of downtown.
“It can be an inexpensive way to get established, and it puts you closer to other businesses, giving people more reason to stop and stay downtown,” he said.
The Hopkinses have purchased the building at 101 E. Second St., which once housed Nu Orbit Media, a website design company, and are in the process of renovating the inside to display their selection of new and used firearms, ammunition, accessories and gun parts.
“We will be opening Oct. 7 and will hold a grand opening at a later date,” he said.
They also plan to live above the store, which offers a nice, spacious apartment.
“Having people live downtown is a big part of revitalizing the downtown,” Laura Hopkins said.
Although Bite the Bullet is an established business, having celebrated its third anniversary this summer, Mark Hopkins said bringing his customers downtown should help increase traffic for other businesses.
The Hopkinses aren’t the only ones who see potential in the downtown.
Garvin Parmley of Seymour plans to open a downtown location of his Bullwinkle’s Family Restaurant at 107 N. Chestnut St. Bullwinkle’s currently operates out of the Seymour Moose Lodge on Sixth Street. The restaurant specializes in pizza, burgers and wings, but Parmley said he plans to offer a salad bar, sandwiches and other lighter lunch choices.
Parmley is working with building owner Bret Daugherty, who also owns and operates 13th Floor Music Store downtown, to upgrade the electric service in the building and repair the roof. The building most recently housed Red Star Pizza, which moved across town.
“I have always patronized down there when it was Red Star and before that when it was Day’s Pizza,” Parmley said. “I thought it would be a good location.”
Like the Hopkinses, he hopes the business will attract more traffic downtown and more interest from other business owners.
“We don’t really have a lot downtown right now, and I would like to see it be more like Madison or Columbus’ downtown, where families can go and visit, eat, walk around and visit the stores. I’m hoping Seymour can work itself up to that.”
He said the central location is good for businesspeople looking for a place to have lunch and also will be good to attract business during downtown events such as Scoop the Loop, Oktoberfest and Cars and Guitars.
“People are used to coming to that area. They’ve been doing it for years and years,” he said. “We’re hoping to attract more people down there in the evenings and on weekends too.”
‘Coming along but slowly’
The downtown needs more sit-down family restaurants that offer later hours, Parmley said. Mi Casa Mexican Restaurant on South Chestnut Street is the only eatery that is open during the evenings. Other places to eat include Bevers Deli, The Chocolate Spoon and Larrison’s Diner. Several restaurants such as Tapatio’s, Royal Pizza, Blackerby’s Blue Plate Cafe and the My Place Cafe have opened downtown in the past but have failed to stay in business very long.
Parmley said that, to attract and keep more businesses downtown, there needs to be more to do.
“There’s not a whole lot to stop people,” he said.
He said the addition of Chillicen — a seasonal ice cream, frozen yogurt and shaved ice business — and the Steinker Platz pocket park downtown have helped some, but now it’s a matter of building on that momentum.
“It’s coming along, but slowly,” he said.
He hopes to have the new Bullwinkle’s location open by the end of this month. The existing business, which has been at the Moose Lodge for two years, will remain open, he said.
Another new business that opened downtown recently is Steps Dance Studio at 112 W. Second St, which once housed The Alley Street Ministries. It’s the second location for the studio, which is based in North Vernon.
Mark Hopkins said one of the aspects that attracted him to the downtown is the buildings themselves. When they looked at options for expanding Bite the Bullet, he said, they couldn’t justify building a new facility with the resources that were available.
“There are all these beautiful, useful buildings down there, and it’s a shame that they are just sitting here and decaying,” he said. “The owner of our building had done a lot of facade work, and that is what attracted us to it.”
‘Set an example’
Many downtown buildings are empty and in need of renovation and upgrades. Some just need a good power washing and a fresh coat of paint, Hopkins said.
Tom Goecker of Seymour, who operates Goecker Construction and serves as president of Seymour Main Street, has invested in several buildings downtown and is in the process of restoring them to their former glory.
He already has one empty building rented to a coffee shop business with a projected opening date of late October, he said.
He owns four retail buildings, two on Second Street and two on Chestnut Street, and is working on redoing the fronts of all the buildings, stripping the interiors, insulating them, bringing them up to building code and installing up-to-date heating ventilation and air conditioning. He also is creating living space in the upstairs areas.
Goecker said he supports the downtown and wants to do what he can to make it better so that more people will want to visit.
Mark Hopkins said he hopes others will stop and take notice of what is going on downtown.
“We’re hoping that people will follow suit and that we can help set an example showing that businesses can thrive downtown,” he said.
Mayor Craig Luedeman said he is always excited to see new businesses come to town, especially downtown.
“It’s the heart of our city,” he said. “The quicker it comes back, the more our city will prosper.”
‘It can be done’
The city will begin construction next year of a trailhead park that will serve as an entrance into the downtown. Luedeman said he hopes the park will help spark even more interest and investment in the downtown.
“We’ve been trying to push the downtown for several years now, and we’re starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “But we still have a long way to go.”
He added he’s been in a lot of meetings recently with different people about the downtown and said the community can expect to see more work being done in the near future.
For Laura Hopkins, being downtown brings back good memories.
“We both grew up in Seymour, and I remember my mom worked downtown at National City Bank,” she said. “I remember going down to Bevers or even Hook’s Pharmacy when it was in business. We don’t have that feel of downtown anymore where businesses are thriving, and we want to see it even better than what it was.”
Her husband agreed but said it will take people willing to invest time and money.
He said one of the big problems is that many of the buildings are owned by out-of-town investment firms or landowners who don’t have ties to Seymour.
“You got to have the people willing to spend money to show others that it can be done,” he said.
Being in the downtown is one way the Hopkinses hope to reach a growing market in their business — women.
“Most gun shops are off the beaten path, out of the way and look like a pole building,” Mark Hopkins said. “We’re really excited that this location will be much more attractive and more inviting.”