New Plymouth Initiative Aims to Help Businesses Survive Roadwork
Along with summer heat comes the orange cones and high-visibility vests of construction season.
In Plymouth, those cones and vests will be seen most prominently on Highway 55 and on Plymouth Boulevard.
A rebuild of Plymouth Boulevard has much of road torn up near city hall.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Department of Transportation is working to resurfacing Highway 55 in Plymouth and Golden Valley.
As a result, some stores and restaurants located along the roadwork will be more difficult to get to.
Plymouth Destination Marketing Coordinator Katie Langland said businesses near city hall are already taking a hit.
“A lot of them are already seeing a big decline in business,” she said. “Some of our businesses right across the street here said they’re already noticing a 30 percent decline within the first couple weeks.”
This construction, and the concern for nearby businesses, has spurred Plymouth to create a new initiative to help businesses survive.
It’s called the “Business Passport” program. The city created physical passports listing 19 businesses for customers to visit.
Each time a customer visits a business on the list, they can get a stamp.
Some businesses have also included special deals in the passport.
If customers get at least eight stamps, they can enter a drawing for a prize valued at $250. With 12 or more stamps, they’re eligible for a $500 grand prize or the $250 prize.
“The goal is to support these businesses and to help them remain open,” Langland said.
Plymouth has a new initiative to help local businesses survive the Highway 55 and Plymouth Boulevard reconstruction projects.
Business Hopes for New Customers
For Brew Park, an indoor dog park, restaurant and bar in Plymouth, the new construction projects come as business traditionally slows down.
“Our business will decline unless it’s super hot or rainy so we’re hoping that despite the weather that would already slow us, we’re not slowed more by the construction being a barrier to come in,” said owner Dr. Angela Woodward.
The business offers an array of services for canines and their owners.
“It’s an indoor dog park that offers a restaurant with a bar and a full menu for dog owners to come and unwind with their dog,” she said. “We also offer daycare, boarding, grooming, and training, and we’re attached to a vet hospital. So the space was sort of designed to be a one-stop shop for dog owners.”
Brew Park — which is located at 2605 Fernbrook Ln. — has already survived a major rebuild of Fernbrook in recent years.
“It’s like, if you build it, they will come,” she said. “So we’re hoping that people know or realize we’re here, and they come enjoy.”
Woodward is hopeful that the new city initiative will bring in some new dogs, as well as their owners.
“You don’t have to buy anything,” she said. “I think just coming and visiting and seeing what we’re all about, whether you get food and drink or your dog plays, you can get a passport, get a stamp that you’ve been here, and I think awareness of the program is most important.”
The passports are available at any participating business, as well as Plymouth City Hall, the Plymouth Community Center and the Plymouth Ice Center. More information is available here.
