BY TIM BROUK
PHOTOS BY TIM BROUK & PROVIDED
For dozens of downtown businesses, it’s more about cooperation than competition, collaboration instead of contention.
In an effort to organize and unite while having fun and making good business, Nolan Willhite and Troy Weber, owners of Flora Candle Company, 609 Main St.; and Gabby Mathias, owner of Dawson & Daisy Boutique, 309 Columbia St., initiated a monthly, themed showcase of downtown Lafayette shops, cafes and restaurants. Since April, Shop765 events have occurred monthly from 4-9 p.m. on a Friday.
Willhite says the goal of Shop765 is to elevate all downtown businesses. The themes help grab attention on a bustling Friday night. The August theme carried a Purdue University “Boiler Up Downtown” theme, while July had a “TGIF” 1990s nostalgia theme. Each month the events have grown in terms of customers and participating businesses. The first event, an “April Showers” spa theme, saw 15 businesses promote those Shop765 deals — special items, sales and giveaways. A few months later, as many as 25 downtown businesses got in on the action.
“We’re always trying to improve our downtown and look at what everyone else is struggling with,” says Willhite, who named his business after his beloved great-great aunt Florann and her love of candles. “One of the things we struggle with is getting people down here, letting them know that we are here and we’re ready to welcome them into our shops. I learned we’re kind of all in the same boat.”
Willhite adds that Shop765 was inspired by a pre-pandemic “Girls Gone Local” downtown business initiative but under a more inclusive, broader lens. After the initial event that focused on beauty and retail shops, he realized they could be even more inclusive by bringing in food and drink purveyors, too.
“We wanted to make sure we were including as many people as we can,” Willhite says. “We all kind of have the same struggles, and when we work together, those struggles go away. When we work by ourselves, the struggles get bigger. I think that’s what was happening before this year. We needed to lift everyone up, and that’s what downtown is all about, lifting all of the businesses up, no matter who they are.”
Online sales and social media promotion can only get you so far, Willhite opined. By moving customers to get off their couches, travel downtown and set foot through the door, that can ensure brisk business and word of mouth promotion.
“You can talk to people and tell them about your story and tell them why you started and who you are. That’s what local business is all about,” he says. “We also have to think about how do we grab peoples’ attention and how do we grab different crowds’ attention?”
Other themes included June’s “Sweet Summertime,” which highlighted sugary treats around downtown, and “May Flowers” saw businesses handing out flowers to customers to build their own bouquets for mom on Mother’s Day weekend. For the ’90s night, Willhite and Weber created candles with perfect thematic scents — “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” which smelled like the classic Fun Dip candy, and “’90s Nostalgia,” which had a kitschy cucumber-melon Bath & Body Works aroma.
Other Shop765 regulars include Scout, Rose Market, McCord Candies and Main Street Books, which sank its literary teeth into July’s ’90s theme with an old-school Scholastic Book Fair vibe complete with many a “Goosebumps” and “Baby-Sitters Club” title in the mix.
Along with the books, owners Laura and Justin Kendall gave away tote bags and old-school slap bracelets, had story time for kids that weren’t even thought of in the ’90s, and ushered in unique products such as retro erasers and “Simpsons” earrings. Customers enthusiastically answered ’90s-themed trivia questions for more free gifts or discounts on their purchases.
“We were pretty busy,” Laura Kendall remembers. “It was a fun mix of people bringing their kids and just grownups wanting to experience the nostalgia. So, we had a mix of stuff for kids and then stuff that was kind of throwback.”
Owning not one but two bookstores in Lafayette (the other being Second Flight Books) is not easy in 2023. Booksellers like the Kendalls must get creative sometimes, and Shop765 is one of those times they can. The results are more people through the door and more items sold.
“For me, I wanted to just be more involved with downtown in general,” Kendall says. “I think the more people involved with the event, the better it’s going to be because it’s more people promoting it and getting excited.
“Once people come downtown and explore a bit, they realize how many fun things there are to actually do and fun shops to check out. Discovery is key.” ★
