Ledger-Dispatch

By Scott Thomas Anderson (sanderson@ledger-dispatch.c= om)=20 - Jerry Budrick=20

Main Street Ione

Photo by: Jerry = Budrick

Main Street Jackson

Photo by: Scott Thomas=20 Anderson

Main Street Sutter Creek

Photo by: Jerry = Budrick

Main Street Plymouth

Photo by: Scott Thomas=20 Anderson
The nation's commander in chief, = its=20 Republicans and Democrats, and both its presidential candidates have all = used=20 the same modification of the now-famous expression, "We have to help = Wall Street=20 in order to save Main Street." As financial earthquakes rumble through = the U.S.=20 economy, the image of Main Street America has become a symbol for small = business=20 owners everywhere descending into financial crisis.

In total, = Amador=20 County boasts five historic Main streets, each dotted with a variety of=20 merchants and local restaurant owners. While some challenges faced by = business=20 owners are unique to each avenue, there's little doubt that the = shockwave from=20 Wall Street's turmoil is having a far-reaching effect throughout the = Mother=20 Lode.

Main Street Ione

It's seldom that people in a = small=20 town completely agree about something, but the residents of Ione appear = to be in=20 total agreement that they simply have to find a way to get big trucks = off of=20 Main Street.

The buzz on Main Street is that the old Scully = building,=20 which used to be Orville's Bar, is in the midst of a transformation into = Clark's=20 Corner. Ken and Francie Clark, Kraig Clark and Ione Mayor Andrea Bonham = have=20 been working since July on creation of what they hope will become a = community=20 center.

Bonham spoke nostalgically of Brodie's Coffee Shop, the = main=20 hangout during her youth in Ione. The Clarks will be moving their Images = &=20 More shop from across the street, adding art to the walls of the coffee, = pastry=20 and event center, where they hope to add more life to the downtown = scene. The=20 plan is to be open by Nov. 3, to host the Ione Business and Community=20 Association mixer.

The Scully building is also somewhat infamous = as the=20 location of the overhangs that have been periodically ripped from the = front and=20 side by long semis barely able to negotiate the sharp, tight 90-degree = right=20 turn heading south on Highway 124.

"We've never had any sales = tax,"=20 exaggerated Ione Councilman Jerry Sherman, "so we didn't have as much to = lose as=20 Sutter Creek or Jackson." Sherman was speaking of the economic downturn = and its=20 effect on Main Street. Sherman also waxed nostalgic about the old days = in Ione,=20 perhaps not blaming the economy for changes that he's seen. "We had = dances=20 downtown. We had fun," he recalled. "People were friendly. It wasn't = them=20 against us."

The refurbished Ione Hotel and Bar, along with its = most=20 recent restaurant incarnation, The Twisted Fork, provide a lively spot, = along=20 with Don Luis, a bustling Mexican restaurant. Tilly's Club is a classic = bar,=20 with the antique backbar from Orville's, two pool tables, karaoke in the = back=20 and a steady stream of regulars.

Ione has never been a tourist = town, but=20 that's been changing some, with the growing popularity of Castle Oaks = Golf=20 Course. What's really striking about Ione's Main Street is that the city = has=20 recently created a modern, new section of the street = itself.

Main=20 Street Jackson

At Wednesday's Amador Economic Forum, Jackson = City=20 Councilman Wayne Garabaldi wasn't mixing words about the trouble his = city's=20 facing: "Jackson is probably the best example, or maybe the worst = example,=20 however you want to characterize it, of the problems going on in our = local=20 economy," he explained from the panel. "It is something that hits people = when=20 they walk down Main Street. I lived here for 45 years and have never = seen so=20 many empty windows."

Richard Small, owner of Richard and Sherri's = Wood=20 Carving on Main Street, agrees with Garabaldi. "It's pretty serious," he = said.=20 "People are certainly afraid. They're not buying like they used to." To=20 counteract a slump in general sales, Small diversified the services his = business=20 was offering, including trading in gold. He said the efforts have helped = his=20 profits. "Getting involved with a number of services has really been = working for=20 us," he explained. "That, and doing right by the customers. I treat = every single=20 person the same when they walk in - no matter how they look. I think = some=20 business owners may not realize that just because a customer may not be = all=20 dressed up nice or look the way you think they should, doesn't mean they = don't=20 have money to spend."

Even with his own store managing to = survive, Small=20 believed the problems on Jackson's Main Street could get worse before = they get=20 better. "There's not much the town can do to force people to buy in this = market," he said. "There's 18 empty stores on the street right now. = There will=20 probably be more before all this is over."

Such warnings have = been=20 haunting the minds of Jackson business owners for well over a year. = However, the=20 fears didn't stop 22-year-old Kasey Turner from opening a new Internet = cafe on=20 the storied avenue last month. "The people in the business community = here are=20 really nice," he said. "I just started this place and a lot of the = merchants=20 have already treated me like part of a close-knit family. It's a really = positive=20 feeling."

While Turner likes the sense of camaraderie among his = fellow=20 business owners, he feels an acute awareness that Main Street is in a = dire=20 situation. "Everyone's experiencing the impact from the stock market = falling. I=20 know the owner of Rosebud's told me the stock market was what was = preventing=20 them from re-opening," he said. Despite the gloom, Turner still sees = brighter=20 things on the horizon for Jackson's central hub. The very name of his = business,=20 Main Street Online, combines his nostalgia for the town with the growing = presence of the Information Age and new directions the city may have to = take to=20 stay relevant in the future. "I used to hang out on Main Street all the = time=20 when I was a kid," he remembered. "I opened this business so other young = people=20 would have a place to hang out and do the things they want to = do."

Like=20 his neighbors at Richard and Sherri's Wood Carving, Turner has also been = attempting to think outside the box in finding a way to offer more = services to=20 local customers. One of his latest ideas is offering computer lessons = for older=20 residents who may be new to the World Wide Web. "Until we can find a way = to get=20 the tour busses rolling through town again, we have to find a way to = weather the=20 storm," he said, looking out on the street.

Main Street Sutter = Creek

"Wall Street runs parallel with Main Street," said = Sutter Creek=20 Palace owner Dan Walker. "The stock market definitely coincides with = business.=20 When the market goes down, people get afraid of spending = money."

This=20 could be called a tale of two different cities within one block, since = Caffe Via=20 d'Oro and American Exchange Hotel owner Dennis Griffin said, "I can't = explain=20 it, but since the market crash, business in our restaurants has shot=20 up."

The past weekend may not have been a fair time to assess the = impact=20 of the international economic crisis on business or traffic on Sutter = Creek's=20 Main Street. The innovative Sutter Creek Promotions Committee had spread = the=20 word far and wide that the town would be filled with the sounds of more = than a=20 dozen music-making devices.

The Sierra Nevada chapter of the = Automatic=20 Musical Instrument Collectors Association brought many of their = treasures to=20 town: hurdy-gurdys, monkey organs, street organs, grind organs and = barrel=20 organs. The festive mood they created erased any chance of wallowing in = the doom=20 and gloom that pervades the economic world today.

As his = contribution to=20 the city's promotion program, Griffin provided rooms for visiting organ = grinders=20 at his historic refurbished hotel. Griffin also has an emerging project = -=20 reincarnation of the long-lost Crain's Market at the south end of Main = Street.=20 Under its new name, Crane's Market, the reborn store is expected to cure = the=20 town's No. 1 ailment. Residents and visitors alike have said for years = that you=20 can't buy a loaf of bread (or other staples) in Sutter = Creek.

"Business=20 is really good," said Lisa Klosowski, in her Sutter Creek Music Box Co. = store,=20 which was teeming with customers, despite the absence of a single = hurdy-gurdy=20 among the thousands of items for sale. "Some days may be quiet, but = others are=20 amazing."

A long-time member and, until recently, president of = the Sutter=20 Creek Business and Professional Association, Klosowski had a lot to say = about=20 her town, Main Street and Wall Street. "They say the Wall Street = collapse hasn't=20 hit Main Street yet," she said, "but the fact that we're in business at = all is a=20 wonder, with the (Highway 49) bypass, economy and gas = prices."

"Each=20 store in Sutter Creek is unique," Klosowski pointed out, "and it's part = of the=20 appeal. When things get really bad, people return to the real meaning of = gift-giving. They want more individual things and an atmosphere they = can't find=20 in the mall."

"I think we have one of the best Main Streets in = Northern=20 California," said Sue Haldane, while artfully wrapping a package at Fine = Eye=20 Gallery. "Everything is right here, in not even a quarter mile. After = working=20 here for 10 years, every day I walk in is just a joy."

"Sutter = Creek's=20 marketing plan is quite clear," explained Main Street businessman = (Bubble Gum=20 Bookstore and Lizzie Ann's) and city councilman Pat Crosby, "to keep the = town=20 just as it is now. We still have our old storefronts and it's no longer = burdened=20 with excess through traffic. Could we have the cash registers ringing = more?=20 Sure, we could, but it's all right."

"People are shopping more = locally,"=20 said Josie Cadieux, a veteran of years' worth of business swings at her = Main=20 Street shop, Tomorrow's Heirlooms. Cadieux also had some words of = wisdom,=20 saying, "Small business people survive by knowing that they shouldn't = get=20 overextended. It's unfortunate that so many people who bought houses = didn't=20 think that way."

Main Street Amador City

Since the=20 completion of the Highway 49 bypass, Main Street in Amador City has been = in=20 transition. With the newfound tranquility created by removal of the = thundering=20 traffic has come some rearrangement of the local = businesses.

Andrae's=20 Bakery, at the south end of Main Street, still draws big crowds Thursday = through=20 Sunday. The Buffalo Chips Emporium has entered a new era, serving = dinners on=20 some Thursdays and all Fridays, in addition to their popular daytime = fare. The=20 Imperial Hotel continues to be a magnet, with elegant dinner service, = full bar=20 and six individualized rooms with bath.

Main Street=20 Plymouth

When Brian and Heidi Smith opened B&H Guitars on = Main=20 Street Plymouth - a corridor with few merchants but several dining = operations -=20 they were told that they'd picked a location where "businesses come to = die." Yet=20 Brian chose to be an optimist. He vowed to fight through a tough economy = in=20 order to get his dream moving forward. Two months after opening their = doors, the=20 couple has seen a modest but steady increase in revenue. Brian has so = far been=20 permitted to hold on to his optimism.

"Foot traffic is better = than we=20 expected," Brian observed. "It's been kind of a trickle affect with = gaining=20 customers, but we've done well enough to expand our merchandise a = little.=20 Strangely, the weekdays have generally been better than the=20 weekends."

From Heidi's perspective, the atmosphere on Plymouth's = Main=20 Street is inviting, especially in relationship to how other business = owners have=20 treated her. "We don't have a business owners association that I know = of," she=20 said. "Still, the other business owners have been cooperative and shown = a lot of=20 support. They tell their customers about us - and in return we try to = spend=20 money at their places to support them."

Similar to their = counterparts in=20 Jackson, the Smiths have particularly stabilized their business by = diversifying=20 the services they offer. "One thing we've really expanded is the amount = of music=20 lessons we're offering. That part of the business is booming and we're = working=20 hard to offer more of it."

The fact that the Smiths are = some of the=20 only merchants on Plymouth's Main Street has not been lost on the city = manager,=20 Dixon Flynn. At Thursday's city council meeting, Flynn found himself in = the=20 position of laying out the major pros and cons of allowing large = developers to=20 come to the Plymouth area.

"There are difficulties that come with = that=20 kind of change, but there are good things that come with it too," Flynn=20 explained to the crowd and council members. "The challenges have to do = with=20 preserving the city's unique character and rural way of life. The = benefits to=20 it, on the other hand, are that development gives a serious boost to our = local=20 businesses and it sometimes it allows for new businesses to come into a = place=20 like Plymouth and truly flourish. People need to be weighing the = direction the=20 city will ultimately go."

Scott Thomas = Anderson