1/17/2012
Jeff Kolkey

ROCKFORD — A business development center on Madison Street is rolling out a series of workshops designed to entice potential small-business operators to downtown Rockford.

Storefront Downtown Center for Entrepreneurship, which has opened a colorful office at 106 S. Madison St., is a collaboration between the River District Association and the Rock River Development Partnership dedicated to the rejuvenation of downtown.

The office shows off drawings of proposals and photos of completed downtown projects. It provides a place for entrepreneurs considering downtown to seek information, advice and even business planning services, said River District Association President Gary Anderson.

“People are beginning to rediscover urban areas throughout the country,” Anderson said. “Rockford is always behind the curve ... but people want something and they are beginning to find it. I think we are making progress. It is slow, but the last couple years, we have done a good job making some headway regardless of the economy.”

The Madison Street center was introduced in July and funded through a $100,000 federal Small Business Administration grant championed by Rep. Don Manzullo.

The first workshop, “Promoting your Storefront,” is from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday at Wired Cafe, 414 E. State St. The workshop will cover marketing strategies, working with the media and public relations techniques for downtown businesses.

More workshops are planned, said Cathy McDermott, the manager of the center. A workshop in February at Carlyle Brewing will focus on financing a downtown business, and in March the Storefront will host a City Market Vendor workshop at the Millennium Center.

Storefront encourages potential small-business owners to use the popular Rockford City Market as a testing ground. The idea is for business owners to develop a customer base, test new and innovative products, and gain valuable experience before moving on to microretail locations. Vendors are encouraged to develop business plans with the help of the Rock Valley College Small Business Development Center at the EIGERlab.

The hope is that, eventually, the entrepreneurs will move into a full-time downtown storefront.

There have been a few efforts to take the step out of the market into a more permanent business location. City Market vendors Joe and Anne D’Astice have opened Pasta Cucina in Stewart Square and plan to open a Woodfire Brick Oven Pizza restaurant this summer on State Street. Bella Luna Bakery is operating out of a microretail location inside the Millennium Center.

City Market is largely credited, along with Friday Night Flix, with breathing much-needed life into downtown, especially during the summer. It drew nearly 20,000 visitors in its first season and almost 40,000 from across the region in 2011.

The challenge now is to capitalize on the market by bringing new storefronts downtown.

“If you build something that people want, they will come,” McDermott said. “That’s what we are showing. To translate that into business, if you have a product, food, restaurant or retail store that people want, they will find you and come downtown.”

Reach staff writer Jeff Kolkey at jkolkey@rrstar.com or 815-987-1374.




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