Deseronto Council and staff would like to thank the Hastings County Economic Development & Tourism Advisory Committee, which has launched their vacant storefront campaign, with two locations in our downtown. The locations are “Octopus Books” in the former Dollar Store and “The Black Cat Café” in the former Dixie Lee/grocery store.
The goal is to inspire entrepreneurs to invest and open businesses in downtown cores by providing a window to what could be in each location. In creating the concept and design for the vacant storefront campaign, the Hastings County Economic Development & Tourism team worked with a local and award-winning illustrator to create the illustrations used for the storefronts, based on businesses that could be a good potential fit in each downtown.
The campaign is also designed to make it easy for entrepreneurs and potential business investors to gain information on the available storefronts, be connected with the property owners or managers, and receive free and confidential business coaching from the Hastings County Small Business Coordinator if required. The campaign also features a digital component to attract potential entrepreneurs and investors locally and regionally and could be expanded to accommodate more vacant storefronts in the future.
