The City of Knox held a ribbon cutting and open house downtown Wednesday for their second pop-up store.
In a previous Knox City Council meeting, Mayor Dennis Estok announced a second pop-up store would be opening at 6 North Main Street. He stated the pop-up store will offer low cost start up fees to small businesses with the hope of giving them a head start in becoming successful. It was noted this program is designed to attract small businesses and create retail shopping in downtown Knox. Business owners will have an opportunity to sell and showcase products and services of interest to area residents and tourists.
On Wednesday, Mayor Estok told WKVI News the building had been vacant for 20 years. He stated, if the city had not bought the property, they may have had to tear the building down due to deterioration. Mayor Estok said the amount of work done to the building at 6 North Main Street was extensive. He said, “A lot of work went into it and hopefully whoever occupies this building, they are going to have all new air, furnace and plumbing. They should be good to go.”
When asked about what a second pop-up store means for the City of Knox, Mayor Estok said, “I think it shows everybody that we are really proactive. We don’t sit by in the City of Knox and let the city try to run itself, degrade or whatever. We are going after it. Years ago everybody said that downtown is done, it’s dead and there is no hope. I don’t think that’s true, that is not true. They need to come up on mornings and Saturday mornings, it is thriving, so the more we do this, it’s going to thrive even more.
Applications are available here or by calling the Mayor’s office at 574-772-4553. The deadline to apply is Friday, August 9.
