By Robert Shumskis, Standard Correspondent
Now that another foliage season has wrapped up, Woodstock’s Economic Development Commission (EDC) called on business owners to meet at Town Hall on Wednesday, Nov. 8 to discuss the ways the town was successful this season, as well as ways things need to get better.
Longtime business owner and Village Trustee Jeffrey Kahn led the meeting with Beth Finlayson, who heads the Chamber of Commerce. Kahn opened the meeting by asking for ideas that could increase foot traffic downtown. Mon Vert owner Joe DiNatale responded that foot traffic does not directly correlate to sales, a point he emphasized by calling out a statement that shop owners heard frequently during foliage: “Where’s your bathroom?”
Access to restrooms was far from the only concern, however, as Kahn took a question from another attendee regarding the parking situation during peak times. “I’m going to talk to my fellow Trustees about finding ways to reduce the bus traffic in the village, especially the dropoff zone,” Kahn responded. “It adds tremendous congestion. I remember one bus that dropped [people] right in front of Susie’s [Curtis, owner of Woody’s Mercantile] store. I couldn’t believe that’s where they parked. Perhaps we could have them park further away and maybe we won’t have quite as many buses in years to come. That’s one of the reasons for lines at cafés, the Village Butcher, etc. There were times when the street was so congested, and that was one of the things that residents commented on.”
DiNatale added, “I’ve thought for years and suggested in the past something that wasn’t always warmly received, but I think it would be totally appropriate if we charge a fee for the buses to stop here.” Kahn cautioned the legality of such a measure. DiNatale continued, “If you start tacking on a couple hundred bucks per bus, it would generate some income for the town and maybe make some of them second-guess stopping in the town.”
Kahn offered attendees some reassurance as the Village looks forward to another year. “These are my thoughts, based on my 45 years of business in Woodstock.” He said the EDC wants to direct funds “toward improving the experience local residents and visitors have during prime tourist season. They’re referring to things like food service, parking, congestion, and buses. I’m all for improving experiences, especially in October. As far as food service, we can expect in 2024 — hopefully — three to four restaurants will be opening that we currently do not have in Woodstock. We’ve got the Creamery location, Mangalitsa will be reopening, hopefully, Peace Field Farm will be allowed to open, and potentially the old pharmacy space will be a restaurant.”
Two of the merchants — Susie Curtis and Cara Kettenbach — thought that raised more questions than it answered. Specifically, they wondered what could be done in the short-term, around Wassail weekend for example, until the new restaurants launch.
“I feel like we might want to consider putting money aside to try to get more people here and giving them a better experience when they are here,” Curtis stated. “Maybe it’s the location of my store, but people are really hungry. They’re hungry, they want hot cider, they want coffee, and there’s not a lot of options. The options we have are awesome, but the lines are really long and we need to address what’s going to happen when they’re here.”
Kettenbach, who operates 121 Home with her husband Josh Nutter, amended Curtis’s point with, “We’ve had multiple people come to us and say, ‘There’s nowhere for us to go to eat, there’s nowhere for us to get a coffee, and you want us to come back here?’ I’ve physically had a few people say, ‘You want us to come back to this town?’”
Kahn responded by saying, “Food experience is obviously the biggest experiential problem that we have. We know that. We put people on the Village Green on Sundays and Mondays this year just to help and they sold out. We’re going to do that again in the future because those are the worst two days. We need help there.”
Kettenbach proposed setting up coffee and prepared sandwiches alongside food trucks as a low-cost and low-power way to take care of the demand.
Curtis later concluded, “I would like to see what Joe said, give them the best experience when they’re here. Don’t keep trying to bring more here. We had a lot of really upset people last year — a lot. They can’t find parking, they can’t find a bathroom, there’s not enough signage. We sound like broken records all day long trying to explain where the welcome center is.”
On Nov. 30 at 6 p.m., the EDC is going to hold a public meeting at Town Hall “to discuss things such as the effect of tourism on the village,” Kahn noted. “I strongly recommend that you all show up for that meeting. You are the public, as well as anyone else who’s interested.”