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George R.R. Martin says there are two types of writers, an architect and a gardener. Martin is famously a gardener. It’s why I always laugh at people who yell at him to finish the books. The beauty, and the challenge, of gardening is there is always a new branch or a new seed. And that’s the same as small business development.

EntreFuel is Grow Clinton’s gardening tool for small business development. We try to help entrepreneurs plant the seeds for their success. With Conor from Small Business Development Center, we offer workshops on the second Tuesdays of every month. With Rural Ideas Network, there are virtual one-on-one consultations available daily. We continue to add programs.

Let’s review just some of the business developments since last year’s progress edition.

Out on the west side, Walmart finished a multimillion-dollar remodel providing easier pickup for online orders. Jersey Mikes opened up in the spring and continues to show that the Clinton market loves options. Since Slumberland announced their retirement, our office received countless inquiries about what is coming next. We are excited to see Marshalls is getting closer to opening.

Along Lincolnway, after multiple years of remodeling, La Laguna Market 2 Mexican grocery store and restaurant opened. Talking about Mexican restaurants, it’s always great to see local business owners expand services and try new ways to increase revenue streams. So last Saturday, Mezcal 2 had a Latin Dance party night. We will all wait to see what comes to the old Village Inn. I applaud That One Place for trying to find the best times to be open for business. Our EntreFuel mantra is to test your business assumptions.

In the downtown district, Soi 5 Thai has shown Clinton loves Thai food. Additional upstart restaurants are in the works as well. Opening a business is quite the leap and Clinton Culinary is the perfect place to test your business hypothesis. In the Makers on 5th space, GEOME has extended their stay in the incubator as well. Music on the Avenue proved to be phenomenally successful with over 1,000 people a week. Additional downtown programming is in the works. When you add the Riverfront as a business entity, it was another busy year at the pool, at the Bandshell, and along Riverview Drive. The Showboat had a momentous year of ticket sales and the Lumberkings had another successful season of baseball and being an outdoor entertainment venue.

On the northend, a local family bought Carol’s Original Dairy Treat and had a very successful summer. Talking about succession planning and new owners, Holly’s Dogs and Backshop Pizza both have new owners and will continue their operations. Along Main Avenue there has been some activity as well. You might see the Lyrics sign on a building at the end of Main Avenue. There are plans for a piano bar there. Rivals expanded into The Cage. Then, Paint it Back had another successful year with all new murals. Our artists and crafters are small businesses as well. Excited to see the Sawmill development ideas. Don’t forget our nonprofits generate economic impact, employ residents, and more!

There have been huge wins at the Lyons Tech Park. Bridgeview and Lighthouse Academy are out there. We are awaiting a few official announcements as well for additional projects.

Using our TIF money, we completed a detention pond and hired a consultant to best layout one of the Parks’ parcels. A key issue is where should be the access road to the property.

Over in Fulton, there are two new Mexican restaurants downtown along with a new ice cream shop. By the Marina, there is an EV charging station/convenience store being installed. Many in the business community see the impact tourism has on business, and the EV charging station jump starts this by driving traffic to a fast-charging system.

In Camanche, you saw the opening of Current Coffee. Brent’s has partnered and expanded his Camanche footprint to multiple towns. They have seen an uptick in business interest as well.

Our local banks are developing increasingly small business tools. The city has engaged Retail Strategies on bringing leads to the area. The momentum continues forward as we grow our small business garden together. The success of the Consignment Crawl and all of our small businesses starts with you.

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