Downtown Business Recruitment

Process

Find the Right Businesses for Your Downtown

Recruit the businesses your community wants with a strategy tailored to your market, available spaces, and long-term vision.

How It Works

Downtown Recruitment is Different

So, you know, almost every city that we talk to, they want more retail in their downtown. And of course, that provides a great opportunity for them to really show the character of their community with local businesses, whether that's boutiques or restaurants or even fitness studios and hair salons. And so there's a really deep desire for city leaders to have that. But so often the question is, what comes first? Is it that I have this great retail and awesome brewery and then people come and it becomes this great kind of hotspot? Or is it the reverse? Do I have to get the people there first? Then comes the retail. So when we launched Downtown Recruitment, we really wanted to serve our cities in kind of both ways, helping them first gauge the vitality in their downtown. Vitality is a word that we use a lot that really is kind of a litmus test for buzz in the downtown, if you will. What's happening? How does it feel? There aren't very many true metrics, you know, data or things like that that can gauge vitality. Sometimes foot traffic and sales tax being generated, sometimes those can be metrics, but generally it's something that you really feel when you go to a community. So when we work with cities, we want to first help them kind of gauge their vitality, amp that up if necessary, and then recruit retail, you know, existing local businesses that may want to open a new store, but also really holistically elevate the rest of the small business ecosystem downtown. So we have a very kind of wide ranging approach to improving the retail in our client communities.

Recruiting businesses for a downtown requires a different approach than recruiting for a shopping center or highway corridor.

Downtown businesses often prioritize:

Walkability and foot traffic
Historic character and authenticity
Tourism and local experiences
Mixed-use environments
Community support
Smaller storefronts and flexible spaces

Success depends on understanding both what your market can support and what independent businesses, regional operators, and expanding brands are looking for.

That’s where we come in.

Three Reasons Communities Choose Downtown Business Recruitment

1. We Build a Recruitment Strategy Around Your Downtown

Every downtown has its own strengths, challenges, and opportunities.

We begin by evaluating:

Your business mix
Available properties
Consumer demand
Retail leakage
Visitor patterns
Market demographics
Walkability and destination assets

This creates a recruitment strategy focused on businesses that complement your downtown and strengthen its identity—not compete against it.

2. We Recruit Businesses That Fit Your Community

A successful downtown isn’t built by filling every vacancy.

It’s built by creating the right mix of businesses.

Our team helps recruit businesses such as:

Restaurants and cafés
Coffee shops
Specialty retail
Outdoor recreation retailers
Boutique apparel
Home décor and gift stores
Entertainment concepts
Service businesses that increase downtown activity
Local entrepreneurs and regional brands

Each opportunity is evaluated based on market demand, available real estate, and long-term success.

3. We Handle the Outreach

Finding the right businesses takes time, industry knowledge, and relationships.

Our team works as an extension of your staff by:

Identifying qualified prospects
Researching expansion plans
Connecting with business owners and decision-makers
Presenting available opportunities
Coordinating with property owners
Supporting site evaluation and due diligence

Rather than waiting for businesses to discover your downtown, we actively introduce your community to businesses that fit your market.

About

Our president, Jenn Gregory, founded a consulting firm specializing in solutions for community development, downtown revitalization, retail recruitment, non-profit board development, governmental relations, and public affairs.

Downtown Strategies exists because communities repeatedly expressed a desire to develop their downtown. And Retail Strategies listened, and we responded, and we created Downtown Strategies for that reason. Downtown Strategies was created to identify and help communities that have a sleepy historic downtown or doesn't have a downtown and would like to see one developed in their community. We're not creating twenty year master plans that will help them dream up this pie in the sky vision of what their downtown could be with no limited resources. But instead, we're coming up with plans that will help them start literally tomorrow with implementing small incremental changes that ultimately lead to big wins in the community. Downtown Strategies help city leaders by creating a sense of place. It is the unique character of a community. It's the fiber of a community. The unique experience that you can have downtown cannot be replicated through national retail brands. National retail brands are everywhere in America. Downtowns are what give communities a personality, and so bringing restaurants and retailers that are unique and memorable will provide an experience to visitors and residents that lasts a really long time. Now there is a shift back downtown. People want an experience. They wanna be at a brewery. They wanna be at a restaurant. They want something that they can take pride in, and we wanna help build that. There are a lot of companies out there that create downtown plans for communities that are unachievable if they don't have the dollars to invest to create the plan that was delivered to them. And what's so different about downtown strategies is the element of getting started today steps, sweat equity steps. If you don't currently have the funding in place, you can get started with Downtown Strategies. When you partner with Downtown Strategies, we begin by scheduling our strategic visioning workshop. The most important part of the process is to be in the community and to meet all of the stakeholders. We invite any community leaders that have a stake in the growth of downtown to a session where together we collaborate on the future for that town. Communities think that their national retail corridor and their downtown are at odds with each other, but we actually think that they build upon each other. Your downtown can be where you have your local restaurants, your local coffee shops, places where people wanna go. People take pride in walking up and down the street, and they wanna invest locally. We want that to be in your downtown. So many of our city partners have beautiful downtowns, but they're experiencing a high number of vacancies. We're seeing a lot of small businesses close, and so city leaders are looking for creative opportunities to backfill these vacancies in addition to looking for long term tenants. Communities hire Downtown Strategies because we give a data driven approach, and we become a part of your team. Instead of giving you a master plan, we wanna give you a process that you can implement tomorrow without extreme amounts of capital or outside investment. Retail Strategies developed a downtown program because communities ask for it. We listened, we responded, and we developed downtown strategies.

The 5 Pillars

Pillar

Market Analysis

We begin by assessing your consumers from multiple geographies. Using our advanced analytics and proprietary tools, we uncover and define the economic potential in your Downtown area based on a custom trade area derived from mobile data tracking.

Pillar

Policy & Administration

Policy & Administration involves creating a strong foundation for a sustainable revitalization effort, including cultivating partnerships, community involvement, and resources for the district.

Pillar

Design

Thoughtful design supports a community’s transformation by enhancing the physical and visual assets that set the commercial district apart.

Pillar

Tourism & Promotion

Smart promotion initiatives position your Downtown or commercial district as the center of the community and hub of economic activity, while creating a positive image that showcases a community’s unique characteristics.

Pillar

Economic Vitality

Economic Vitality focuses on capital, incentives, and other economic and financial tools to assist new and existing businesses, catalyze property development, and create a supportive environment for entrepreneurs and innovators that drive local economies.

Catalyst Projects

We work to find that special project – perhaps a brewery, boutique, or restaurant – that will act as a catalyst to start revitalization of your downtown.

Strategic Visioning Workshop

We host a workshop with your local leaders and downtown stakeholders to gather feedback on opportunities and challenges for the downtown area.

Example Community

Zachary, LA

Real Communities provided with actionable steps and realistic improvements that help retain business and enliven your community.

Process

Find the Right Businesses for Your Downtown

How It Works

Downtown Recruitment is Different

Three Reasons Communities Choose Downtown Business Recruitment

1. We Build a Recruitment Strategy Around Your Downtown

2. We Recruit Businesses That Fit Your Community

3. We Handle the Outreach

About

The 5 Pillars

Market Analysis

Policy & Administration

Design

Tourism & Promotion

Economic Vitality

Catalyst Projects

Strategic Visioning Workshop

Example Community

Zachary, LA

Phone

Birmingham

Auburn

Fort Worth

Starkville

Process

Find the Right Businesses for Your Downtown

How It Works

Downtown Recruitment is Different

Three Reasons Communities Choose Downtown Business Recruitment

1. We Build a Recruitment Strategy Around Your Downtown

2. We Recruit Businesses That Fit Your Community

3. We Handle the Outreach

About

The 5 Pillars

Market Analysis

Policy & Administration

Design

Tourism & Promotion

Economic Vitality

Catalyst Projects

Strategic Visioning Workshop

Example Community

Zachary, LA

2026 Retailer Report