Strong business community, ‘entertailing’ helps downtown Irwin thrive

When Irwin native Camille Kovach was looking to move her bookstore from its location in Murrysville this year, she said she never considered moving anywhere but downtown Irwin.

Such was her desire to place Completely Booked in downtown Irwin that Kovach leased a storefront on Western Avenue at the bottom of Third Street when it became available in February, even though she was not set to move until September.

“I did it because locations in (downtown) Irwin don’t come up very often,” she said. “I really like the fact that they do events that draw people (to downtown). It’s a very nice community of merchants who do things together,” Kovach said.

Kovach’s sense that a vibrant downtown pulls in visitors was a common theme among business owners in a five-block stretch along Main Street and its side streets.

“It’s the partnership between the IBPA (Irwin Business and Professional Association), the borough of Irwin, the Norwin Chamber of Commerce, the Norwin Rotary and the businesses. Everyone works together to keep our community successful,” said Rosanne Novotnak, chamber of commerce president.

Association pays off

The business association was started years ago when a borough official approached Lois Woleslagle — who has run a wallpaper and paint store, Interiors by Woleslagle, since 1970 — and implored her to have the business community do something to draw people downtown.

Woleslagle, 93, who was president of the IBPA for decades, said she contacted Leonard Santimyer, the late owner of Colonial Grille on Main Street, to see how they could get an association going.

“We didn’t have a clue what to do,” so they started a Christmas light-up night, Woleslagle said.

The simple desire to get something done was the key.

“To do it well, you need to have a champion — either an individual or an organization” to drive the activities, said James Kunkel, executive director of the Saint Vincent College Small Business Development Center.

Having those activities — such as Ladies Night, a cookie tour, Halloween and Christmas parades, craft shows, car shows, music on Main Street — are important to bringing people into town, to make it more than just a shopping experience they get elsewhere, Kunkel said.

“To the extent that the downtown merchants can offer that unique experience, that can sustain themselves and be successful,” Kunkel said.

It’s what Kunkel characterized as entertailing — a retail shopping experience coupled with entertainment that can keep people in town a for longer time, giving them an immersive shopping experience that goes beyond simply just buying a product, Kunkel said.

Multiple attractions

People like to shop in Irwin because they know you can spend a day downtown or several hours, Kovach said.

Kevin McDonald, owner of Main Street Music & Sound, which features a store full of hanging guitars and all the equipment needed for a band, said he likes the fact there is a lot of foot traffic on Main Street, especially during events. It creates a hustle and bustle that gives a vibrancy to the whole downtown, McDonald said.

Even if people walk into the store but don’t buy something during those events, people see what the store has to offer and may come back to buy something, or tell others about it, said McDonald, who has owned the store for 12 years.

“The IBPA has created an awareness of what is going on,” McDonald said.

Kristen Sperduto of North Huntingdon expanded an e-commerce business selling women’s clothing the past three years into a brick-and-mortar setting, opening up Blink Boutique six months ago in a small storefront on Third Street.

“I knew I wanted to be downtown. It’s such a nice little town,” Sperduto said.

Like the owners of the bookstore and women’s boutique, Eric and Sarah Shearer wanted to open their coffee shop, White Tree Cafe & Coffeehouse, on Main Street.

“It’s North Huntingdon’s Main Street,” Shearer said of the surrounding township, with about 31,000 people.

Shearer said they selected the site 2½ years ago because they would come for coffee when it was the Cheesecake Caffe, which closed in September 2011. Shearer said they believed there is a demand for a specialty coffeehouse and they were able to fill that void.

“We really want this to be a place where people can connect, to be plugged into the community. That’s why it is so special to us,” Shearer said.

Storefront demand

There will be one less storefront available next spring when Irwin Borough moves its administrative offices from the second floor of the borough building, at 424 Main St., to the street level of the building.

Irwin Council decided earlier this month not to renew the lease of longtime business Rosendahl’s Appliance Center, as of March 31. The store has been at that site since the 1960s. Future plans for the business are not known.

But, when a space is available, it is scooped up, business owners say.

“You can hardly get a space here. People want to have a business here,” Shearer said.

“The minute a business closes, the space is immediately taken,” said Tracy Alaia of Level Green, who opened her Feathers Artist Market & Gifts seven years ago.

Alaia saw a space for lease on Fourth Street and decided to take the plunge into owning a gift shop, even though she had never worked in retail.

Alaia, who grew up in Manor and came to Irwin as a youngster, said she decided Irwin was a place to start her eclectic gift shop, art gallery and classroom space.

“Irwin is such a vibrant town, with the variety of stores, that there’s something for everyone,” Alaia said.

To keep it that way, Alaia said there needs to be constant promoting.

“I wish more people would know about it. I feel like it (Irwin) is a hidden gem. A lot of memories are made in small towns like this,” Alaia said.