DUNCAN – Unique boutiques, dine-in movies and old-fashioned drug counters with great-tasting malts are some of the hot spots on Duncan’s Main Street.
Destiny Ahlfenger, executive director of Duncan’s Main Street program, said these types of stores and others attract shoppers from Lawton, Oklahoma City and parts of Texas, providing Duncan with the required sales tax revenue to operate the city and its many infrastructure needs.
“We see quite a bit of foot traffic,” she said, of the Main Street businesses.
Among the establishments that draw shoppers is The Palace, a historic movie theater that shares half of its space with The Merchant, a restaurant that serves popcorn as patrons eat their meals and watch movies on one of the two screens at the theater.
Then, there’s R&S Drug which has the old-fashioned drug store counter that sells malts and other goodies.
“These businesses provide a lot of nostalgia,” Ahlfenger said.
Unique boutiques such as Prairie Rose, Sumac, Branded Apparel, and Southern Okies also give shoppers plenty to choose from along Main Street’s shopping district.
“All of these businesses offer something different, which is attractive to shoppers,” Ahlfenger said. “Each of these boutique owners has their own story. For instance, Prairie Rose is the oldest of them all having been here 13 years. Sumac started out in booths and then acquired the property and now has two storefronts.”
Sumac also conducts a large portion of its business online, which is something Main Street’s Ahlfenger said has become part of its training program for other businesses.
“We want them to be up- to-date on social media and the ability to do business online,” she said.
Duncan’s Main Street program started 34 years ago, and continues to draw new members each year. Last year, the program’s board of directors expanded its territory to include all of Main Street, which encompasses an 18-block area. One of the major events hosted by Main Street is the annual Holiday Stroll, which typically draws between 2,000 and 5,000 people to those local businesses and can mean the difference between making a profit or losing money.
“It is important for people to shop downtown,” Ahlfenger said.
The Holiday Stroll is set for 5-8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 21.
Other events were canceled or postponed this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Chisholm Trail Poker Run in March, the Cruisin’ the Chisholm Trail Car Show in April, the world’s largest garage sale in July, the Wine’n on the Chisholm Trail Festival in September and the Boo Review in October.
Duncan’s Main Street program has committees that focus on the district’s appearance or design and membership. The design group developed a program known as Team Up to Clean Up and originated ideas that included murals and art projects in the downtown shopping area.
“Like most communities, we have these ugly traffic signal boxes, so we received permission to wrap them with art from community members,” she said. “It helps give the Main Street area a better look.”
Ahlfenger and her band of volunteers also organize Shop Small Saturday events and coordinate parades that honor military veterans and the late Martin Luther King, Jr. The next Shop Small Saturday event is set Saturday, Nov. 28.
Main Street merchants should work together to bring customers to the district instead of competing with each other, she said.
“We want a sense of place for family and friends to enjoy,” she added. “The more business they do, the more local sales tax there is and that benefits everyone.”
The Main Street program director and its board of directors spend time encouraging property owners to enhance their property, especially the second floors.
“That was the traditional way of working and living where people would work at their first story business and then live upstairs. Some business owners are going back to that if the property owner will develop that second floor as a living quarter,” Ahlfenger said.
Funding for the Main Street program comes from a contract with the City of Duncan, fundraising and memberships, which range from $25 for individuals to $3,000 for corporations. Membership costs for nonprofits is $75; $300 for property owners and $150 for business owners.
For more information about Duncan’s Main Street program, contact the office at 580-252-8696.