Downtown Business Alliance meets ahead of holiday season

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) – Members of the Downtown Business Alliance met for the first time this fall Monday. The annual meeting comes in anticipation of the holiday shopping season.

Be it construction over the summer months or a September hurricane, it’s been a difficult few months for downtown establishments.

The alliance talked over the multiple initiatives to bring more business to downtown Wilmington, Alliance Board President Terry Sanders Espy said. The alliance supports business promotion across downtown from the Castle Street Antique Arts District up to the Brooklyn Arts District.

Florence put multiple business in Wilmington back due to damage.

Espy says it’s important to bounce back over the holiday shopping season.

“This hopefully will give the business owners an opportunity to make up for some lost revenue,” Espy said. “They tried a lot of them were open but had to close the week after because there was mold in the HVAC system.”

Espy said it’s a collective effort for downtown businesses to support one another to promote growth.

The holiday season for these small businesses kicks off next week with the November 23 tree lighting downtown, Small Business Saturday and can go all the way to March with the St. Patrick’s Day parade.