News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Griffin James, owner of Cedar and Threads gift shop in Alpena, arranges ornaments on a small Christmas tree in the store on Wednesday. The gift shop, along with other businesses a short walk away from the main business corridor downtown, don’t see the foot traffic that other businesses in the heart of downtown do.

ALPENA — Some small businesses in downtown Alpena, often only a few steps removed from the primary business corridor, have to work harder to attract customers and market themselves than those in the heart of downtown.

Owners of those businesses say people from Alpena and other communities sometimes overlook them because they aren’t as visible as those on 2nd Avenue or Chisholm Street and because they have less foot traffic near them. They say luring people into the stores can be challenging, but they are finding ways to promote themselves and business is good, especially as Christmas approaches.

Despite being less than a half a block from 2nd Avenue on Water Street, the Bluebird Boutique, which offers a variety of women’s clothing and accessories, doesn’t enjoy the same visual exposure as other small businesses within a hundred yards of the store.

Owner Kelly Heikkuri said the store has been open less than two years, but there are still many people who don’t know the store exists. She said that trend is beginning to shift as promoting her products on social media and word-of-mouth endorsements between customers brings more new customers into the store.

“I have physically been behind people coming out of Cabin Creek Coffee (on the corner of 2nd and River Street) and they go to turn left and they don’t see anything else down there and they end up taking a right,” she said. “I still get people who come in and ask me when I opened and they are surprised when I tell them a year and a half ago.”

Just a few doors down from the Bluebird Boutique is Classic Designs by Doreen Thomas. Thomas said her business originated as a wedding and event decorating service upstairs from her current location, but now she moved to the street level and added retail merchandise. She said that has boosted sales, but there is more room for growth. She said it would be nice if there was signage at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Water Street that infomed people there are businesses just around the corner.

“I use social media and set products out front to draw people’s eyes to them, but it is difficult because of the location,” she said. “We just don’t get the same amount of foot traffic near us as the other stores.”

Griffin James owns Cedar and Threads gift shop on Chisholm Street, about a block from the intersection with 2nd Avenue.

He said that, while making plans to open the store, he was concerned about a lack of foot traffic in front of the store because it was a short walk away from the bulk of the downtown businesses. Those fears have eased now, he said, as people who drive past the store discover it and shoppers walking to and from the Harborside Mall, near where Chisholm meets State Street, stop in to shop. James said he also gets a lot of business from people traveling on U.S.-23 through Alpena.

“Before we moved in here, we had the conversation about, would we see less sales because we aren’t in the heart of downtown and few people, but really, I think, I’m pretty fortunate with the spot that I have,” James said. “Do I think the location is a hindrance? No. If anything, it makes us try harder to expose ourselves more to attract the foot traffic we may lose on 2nd Avenue.”

James, Thomas, and Heikkuri said they are excited about the future of downtown and they all believe the ongoing renovation of the former State and Royal Knight theaters and the Vaughn along 2nd Avenue will broaden their customer base.

Thomas and Heikkuri, whose businesses are across the street from the old Alpena Power Co. office property on the Thunder Bay River, said development on that site could also result in added foot traffic.

Economic development leaders in the Alpena area would like to see a block’s worth of commercial businesses on the bottom level of new buildings at the old Alpena Power Co. site, with housing on the upper floors. So far, that type of project hasn’t presented itself.

A proposed Fairfield Inn and Suites was supposed to be built on the property, but the developer pulled out of the project because of the cost of construction.

“We can’t wait for some of these things to open, because I think that will help attract people more to this section of the downtown and the businesses that are on the side streets,” Heikkuri said. “Overall, I think our downtown is amazing and there are a lot of exciting things in store.”