Before NATO arrived in our city, we at Launch Dayton spoke to several local businesses and asked how they were preparing. In the Assembly’s aftermath, we reached out to several of those same businesses and also collected information from downtown businesses’ social media posts to get a picture of their experience.
Credit: Facebook Photo
Credit: Facebook Photo
Located at 29 W 1st St, just outside the NATO security perimeter fencing, Rabbit Hole Books posted on their Facebook page that they experienced a 70% loss of business during the week of NATO’s visit. Owner Larkin Vonalt added via email, “Our usual charming downtown turned into … the term we heard repeatedly was ‘apocalyptic.’”
In a social media post, Sh’ron Henderson, owner of Wisdom Salon (125 E. 2nd St, ste. 206), took a video of a long security perimeter fencing, and noted that it was a hardship for not only clients, but also the independent contractors who work in her salon.
At The Right Corner Bar (105 E. 3rd St, 1 block outside the security perimeter), Bill Kaehler was quick to say their business had been negatively affected in a “pretty big” way. He estimated that over the holiday weekend, they also saw a 70% drop in business.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
At Joui Wine, owner Lauren Gay stressed how appreciative she was for the regulars who made it a point to visit downtown businesses during NATO’s visit, but also added “We did not have anybody from the NATO conference stop by, even though we applied to be a preferred vendor of sorts, and even had the police stop by and do a security inspection,” Gay also mentioned the frustration with delegates going only to specific places, including out of Dayton proper entirely; “Seriously … not a very good way to gas up the independent downtown businesses that had to navigate the adversities and challenges that the presence of this meeting caused.”
Val’s Bakery (25 S. St. Clair St, 2 blocks outside the security perimeter) said its business was down about 22% over a typical time period. Around the corner from Val’s, a representative for Reduce, Reuse, Refillery (133 E. 4th St, 2 blocks outside the security perimeter) said that while traffic was slow, they’d prepared to see almost no one and were pleasantly surprised that they had foot traffic at all.
Reduce, Reuse, Refillery also noted that during their open business hours, multiple unmarked security vehicles holding masked personnel were parked outside their establishment. They thought potential customers may have found that intimidating.
The response from business owners with whom Launch Dayton spoke is one of disappointment and frustration. This visit, it’s felt, was an opportunity for the Gem City to shine on an international stage. Instead, they were met with a lack of clear communication—business owners reported speaking with police/security personnel who would say that they also “had no idea what was going on,”; perceived promises of accessibility that didn’t come to fruition; a lack of support from civic leadership; and the heartbreak of hearing media and other voices flatly telling people not to come downtown at all. Out of that grows a secondary frustration of folks not knowing where to put their blame: Is it on Mike Turner’s office, local police, or various local organizations?
Though it’s unlikely that the NATO Parliamentary Assembly will visit Dayton again, we did learn valuable lessons. And when next we host a large-scale event and our city’s businesses have the opportunity to be showcased, we hope the lights will shine a little more brightly across our entire city.
Sarah Caplan is the Outreach Programs Manager at The Entrepreneurs’ Center. Launch Dayton, works to establish a culture where entrepreneurs build solid foundations and connect to support networks to drive business growth.
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