Editorial: Citizen input is needed on downtown

Addison M.
10/28/2009 9:01 AM

Wow, you guys are making me all nostalgic. Many downtown areas survive and I believe it is because they cater and welcome people. You feel a certain comfort and need to be there. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I for one love watching people mingle down the streets, young and old. It is an overload to the senses when you see the store owners selling their wares on the sidewalk and smell the delicious scents wafting across the streets…..(is it caramel corn or a freshly seared steak, whatever it is…you gotta have it). Fudge, cookies, breads, candies, salami and cheese stores... Café’s that offer comfortable seating on the busy sidewalks, where you can eat, drink or relax and bath in the life all around you. Musical rifts drifting across the town, no telling what they are, but you know you are alive and you can feel the tunes wash over you. Artists perform the magic of creating beauty in the form of pots, sketches, carvings and glass. Children watch in awe as their imaginations grow. What do you suppose they are thinking about with their wide, young eyes? Flower baskets hang over you as planters, full of beauty reach for the sun. Squirrels race across the street, risking death for a bit of bread. I love it! A lot of things can be done, not all of them involving money. I think it is something that the people have in them. Like a need to get back to what we use to be. It has nothing to do with race, religion or political views. I think it is safe to say that ‘back in the day’ we cared more about one another. We viewed community in a different light and we didn’t just know our neighbors, they were our friends. Well…that’s my bend on it. You all have a wonderful day!

Report a Violation

Doug M.
Willmar, MN     10/28/2009 7:58 AM

The Snack Bar was just to the west of Carlson Rexall Drug on Benson Ave. Ave.

Report a Violation

dar l.
Paynesville, MN     10/28/2009 7:15 AM

Woolworth's had a snack bar, with a delicious hotdog and toasted/buttered bun. They also had a wonderful candy counter where a nice lady would scoop and weigh a dimes worth of my choice and put it in a little white bag for me to carry home and savor for a few days. The maple nougets were my favorite.

Report a Violation

Ron C.
Willmar, MN     10/28/2009 2:54 AM

I know Thrifty Drug had a snack bar.

Report a Violation

joe r.
Willmar, MN     10/27/2009 5:41 PM

One point to make is that you don't make the downtown area a place for affordable housing. I feel you should cater to small eateries, which are sometimes the best places to get a homemade meal, such as the 32oz T-Bone. A good sports bar with food and big screen TV's. I grew up in Chicago, and my grandmother would take me downtown to look at all the holiday decorations and animated window scenes, every year. Christmas back then felt special, but now something is missing, and has been for sometime. Back in the day we would go downtown to catch a movie, eat a meal, and go to the big stores, where the toy department was great. We seen toys you don't seem to find anymore, and lots of them. Nice road racing sets, train sets, and all the accessories that go with them. This downtown could feature a toy store that does nothing but sell quality toys, train sets, and road race sets.They could also feature a hunting, and fishing store, that carries good quality items. How about a good clothing store, Like Cathy stated make this a ten year project, and I bet you could be successful in turning around the downtown area. Of course money is the big hurtle.

Report a Violation

Robert S.
10/27/2009 5:31 PM

Hey guys, this one was downtown, the snack bar! Angela does have a good comment also!

Report a Violation

angela s.
10/27/2009 11:12 AM

What has happened to Willmar is unfortunate. I was born and raised here and I have many fond memories of when Downtown was viable, John's supper club, Habichts, Butter's etc... That was where you went to shop. I even have memory of when the mall had something to offer. But memory lane aside, Willmar has fallen to the wayside. With the lack of stores, creepy people loitering in front of the stores we do have and the putrid stench rising from the waste treatment plant, It is almost repulsive to shop anywhere here. Just driving in this town is a chore, between the people who are flippant about stop signs and the lack of understanding about basic driving courtesy, it is a difficult to manuver to get to said stores. I think it is a travesty on the part of this town to allow such degradation to take place. My family still shops here to support these local businesses and hopefully to make this town viable again. But that is the only reason. I hope that a conclusion can be made as to what to do, and i don't think raising sales tax and allowing another shady bar is the way to go. I think taking a little pride about where we live and buying local is a start.

Report a Violation

joseph h.
10/26/2009 4:46 PM

Larry you have a point, to make Downtown viable they need to expose it and they will have to build it up. Both retail and office can work together and many downtown areas have both and do quite well. A new mall, yes, eating and entertainment, oh yes. A nice sports bar, you bet. Ample parking is a key along with being able to access the area easily. I feel building a big road through the downtown area is a start, then light it up, and add trees as you clear out areas that can be built on. New apartments are also a good idea for working people.

Report a Violation

Ben C.
10/26/2009 1:24 PM

Downtown Willmar is owned by only a few people there lies the first problem, especially those owners who don't live in Willmar. The downtown needs to come together and decide what it wants to be. There was two groups at one point working on behalf of the downtown, one with a retail focus and the other with a focus on creating office space over retail, sad to say the later won, just look at the sign up near Home Depot about longtime downtown business Elmquist moving. It would be great if downtown would find a niche and expand on it. I believe the future lies in the multicultural presence and also the creation and expansion of dinning and evening event places. However, maybe Willmar is still too conservative to allow more places that have food and liquor, or heaven forbid a good sports bar or dance club.

Report a Violation

Jon T.
10/26/2009 7:10 AM

I also think consumer choice can't be ruled out. It's easy to blame big box stores, and Steve isn't inaccurate in his assessment of the Wal-Mart model, but how hard is it to make a left or right turn at Litchfield avenue? Really, convenience has dulled the sensibilities of consumers.

Report a Violation