BOUNTIFUL — The annual sidewalk sale has gotten smaller since its heyday a few decades ago, but Main Street Merchant’s Association President Ben Jorgenson is hoping to turn it around and make it grow once again.
This year, the mid-August event is being called Magic on Main. It starts Thursday, Aug. 9 and ends Saturday, Aug. 11.
“People come out and walk up and down, sort of like they used to do 40 or 50 years ago when this was the place to be for back-to-school shopping,” said Aric Jensen, Bountiful City redevelopment director. “It’s kind of a throwback.”
Businesses such as Classy Chasis Beauty Supply, Barton Comfort Shoes, Bountiful Music and The Wight House will participate, and most will offer deep discounts. For a list of all association businesses, visit bountifulmainstreet.com.
Next year, the association hopes businesses locating in a new building downtown will join in the sale.
“We’re just trying to get as many businesses as we can,” Jorgenson said. “We’re trying to build it back up … It seems like it’s growing.”
The sale coincides with the Bountiful/Davis Summerfest, and organizers of both groups help spread the word about each other’s events to bring in bigger crowds. The Bountiful Farmer’s Market also helps to bring in what Jensen calls a critical mass of shoppers.
“The sidewalk sale brings people out on the street, and that is one of the crucial elements to a successful Main Street,” he said. “If you don’t have people walking around downtown, more people won’t come.”
Businesses cooperating to put on a big sale is valuable for customers and merchants alike, said Jorgenson, who owns The Book Garden with his wife.
“It draws a bigger crowd, obviously, and that’s kind of the idea behind the association is that we can group our efforts and coordinate and do things in a united effort,” he said. “Main Street’s pretty eclectic, but any time we can work together we can make a big event.”
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