Lately, there's been a quote making the rounds on Instagram that goes something like, "Your town is cute because a small business owner took a risk to be there."
And it's true. But I think there's a bigger invitation here.
Behind every cute shop, interesting restaurant, neighbourhood coffee spot, or local gathering place is someone who took a chance. Someone who invested their money, time, energy, and probably a little bit of their sanity into creating something that makes a community more interesting.
Those business owners can take the risk, open the doors, put up the pretty signs, organize the events, and create the spaces. But they can't create a thriving downtown on their own.
That takes a village. And it takes villagers.
I spend a lot of time downtown. I work here, live here, walk my dog here, and spend my days watching the rhythm of our little corner of St. Thomas.
And I've come to appreciate something about downtown that I don't think everyone gets to see: the community that exists behind the storefronts.
Being a downtown business owner isn't just about running your own business. It's about looking out for one another. We are constantly keeping an eye on each other's spaces, sweeping sidewalks, picking up garbage, checking in on neighbours, sending customers to each other, and helping connect new businesses with the empty properties. And that combined effort of business owners is what makes St. Thomas a place that people love to call home.
Living downtown, and walking the dog three times a day, I see familiar faces, have conversations, wave to people, and get to know the people who make up this community. I feel safe here. I know that might not match everyone's perception of downtown, but I think sometimes our impressions are shaped more by what we hear than by what we actually experience.
And this is where I get particularly excited about what we're building at The Atrium.
With our new downtown location, we have people coming through our doors every single day who are also becoming part of the downtown experience. They head out for a walk on their lunch break. They grab food from a local restaurant. They pop into a shop they've never visited before. They discover a new business and come back and share their experience around the kitchen table.
It's a pretty cool thing to watch.
One of my favourite things is when members ask me what's happening downtown, where they should grab lunch, or what new businesses have opened. They come out to events, try new places, and are genuinely curious about what's happening around them.
I love that they are getting to experience St. Thomas in a new way. Not just through the stories or old impressions they might have carried about what downtown used to be, but through their own experiences of what it is becoming.
And I think that's important. The business owners can't do it alone.
Downtowns need people.
We need people walking the sidewalks, popping into shops, grabbing a coffee, bringing their kids downtown, meeting friends for lunch, attending events, and making downtown part of their everyday lives.
Because a downtown doesn't become vibrant because someone decides to open a few businesses or organize a festival. It becomes vibrant when people use it, enjoy it, invest in it, and take some ownership in what it becomes.
I often say you have to be a villager if you want the village.
And I think that applies to all of us.
It's easy to complain about downtown. It's easy to point out what's missing, what's wrong, or what we'd like to see change. And certainly, there are things we can improve. But we also have to ask ourselves what we're doing to contribute to the downtown we say we want.
Are we showing up? Are we supporting the businesses that take a chance on being here? Are we attending the events? Are we introducing friends to our favourite local spots? Are we giving new businesses a chance? Are we open to changing our minds about a place by actually spending time in it?
The downtown business community is working hard behind the scenes, in big and small ways, to make St. Thomas a place people love to live, work, and play.
But we can't do it alone. And honestly, we shouldn't have to.
So take a walk downtown. Bring the dog. Grab a coffee. Try a new restaurant. Come to an event. Say hello to someone. Be curious about what's changing.
My personal challenge to you is for you to go to a business Downtown you have never been to before but always wondered about. Take the chance, the businesses need you.
You have to be a villager if you want the village.
Your dog walking villager,
Elle
