Summertime and the shopping was fine
<p>Dianne Dahlke, owner of the Velvet Hanger clothing store on Sherman Avenue, selects products to be used in a photo shoot, displaying the storeÕs line of clothing Wednesday night. Local businesses reported having generally adequate sales this summer despite downtown construction.</p>
Summer was good to businesses downtown, but maybe not as good as it could have been, say some of the business owners downtown.
In fact, though Fratelli Salon walk-in traffic declined by 30 percent, the business actually saw overall growth. Fratelli Salon is located in Parkside, which borders the McEuen Park construction.
"In spite of the construction, it went very well," said Anna Jessick, one of the salon owners.
Parking difficulties did affect the salon, but customers were also understanding and supportive, she said. This is important because most of her business comes from loyal customers, though she does get a great many walk-ins during summers. Some of them may have avoided the salon, she said.
"But it's also temporary," said Jessick, who supports the park project. "It hasn't been fun, but it will be worth it."
Clark's Jewelry, at 307 E. Sherman Ave., also felt the impact of more limited parking availability, but enjoyed the better economy.
"We had a good summer. Lots of customers complained about the parking, but it was a good summer," salesperson Clayton Riley said.
Farther down at 513 Sherman, Mix it Up owner Jan Carr said her business was up 28 percent, year to date, over last year.
"That's big numbers, because that's our largest time of the year," she said.
Plenty of locals continued to shop at the store, plus Mix it Up saw lots of tourists from the southern United States and Canada. Parking was an issue downtown, Carr said, but she didn't know if it affected her business. That's because she pays for parking passes for her employees to free up parking for customers.
"We had a fabulous year. Who knows if it could have been better," she said.
Other business owners said parking didn't appear to affect their businesses.
"We didn't see any change," said Dianne Dahlke, one of the owners of the Velvet Hanger on Sherman.
She said she was expecting and prepared for fewer customers, but business was good. Dahlke hypothesized that her business is a bit farther away from The Coeur d'Alene Resort than many, so her customers had more access to street parking than those located farther west on Sherman.
But even Possibilities, located at 211 Sherman Ave., said parking hadn't been a problem.
"It was great. The parking over there didn't seem to slow down summer a bit, which was very encouraging," said Lee Kausen, an owner of the store.
Mayor Sandi Bloem, who operates jewelry store Johannes & Co at 406 Sherman, said the foot traffic was as strong as she has seen it. Some locals were concerned about the parking, "but those who did come, including the tourists, found that the parking was not a problem," she said.
"We didn't have any complaints about it," she said, noting that walking a few blocks in the sunshine can be pleasant.
Olympia owner Eva Itskos was also pleased. She didn't think parking difficulties impacted her restaurant at 301 E. Lakeside Ave., but the summer heat did bring crowds in later in the day.
"We had an awesome year and we couldn't be happier," she said.