The Pioneers of the Broad St. Renaissance
Downtown Broad St. has seen quite the revival in recent years, and the roots are directly traceable. Not to the supposed saviors (i.e. the Convention Center, CDA, and yet to open CenterStage), but the little guys who led the transformation of what is now one of the City's hippest addresses.
From First Fridays Art Walk to VCU's expansion, the pioneers go all the way back to the mid 1980s when Bruce Miller and Phil Whiteway sunk every dollar they had in an old run down theater on a then very shady section of Broad St and created what is now Barksdale Theatre/Theatre IV.
Miller writes a brilliant post in Barksdale Buzz about the 11,000+ people who came to see Barksdale's production of "Guys and Dolls" during its recent 10-week run at the Empire Theatre.
His post underscores the importance of supporting the arts as an economic engine (in addition to its separate from its artistic and educational components), and it serves as a reminder that more support of local arts and smaller organizations add up to win-win for local merchants, Broad St. and the City.
“In one summer,” wrote Ted Santarella, owner and chef at Tarrant’s, “Barksdale Theatre has single handedly brought thousands of new faces to our neighborhood. Speaking with other merchants, particularly restaurant operators, we have not only seen an increase in foot traffic into our businesses, but felt the positive impact on our bottom lines.
Barksdale has brought a new market of customers who ‘haven’t been down here in years,’ and may now return on their own to enjoy another evening out.”
Carlos Silva, owner and chef at 27, agrees: “I have been enjoying the benefits of your play (Guys and Dolls). Every weekend my restaurant is full between 5:30 and 7:30. Normally on a Saturday the crowd doesn’t start to grow until 8:00. Thanks to you, I have a full turn of tables before my usual crowd arrives. My revenue has increased across the board.”
Miller concludes:
We’re proud to have been here from the beginning, and to be contributing still to the vitality of this community. We now know that nothing but great things are on the way for this upbeat corner of downtown Richmond!
Take a bow, Bruce and Phil. You deserve it as true pioneers of the Broad St. renaissance.
~
From First Fridays Art Walk to VCU's expansion, the pioneers go all the way back to the mid 1980s when Bruce Miller and Phil Whiteway sunk every dollar they had in an old run down theater on a then very shady section of Broad St and created what is now Barksdale Theatre/Theatre IV.
Miller writes a brilliant post in Barksdale Buzz about the 11,000+ people who came to see Barksdale's production of "Guys and Dolls" during its recent 10-week run at the Empire Theatre.
His post underscores the importance of supporting the arts as an economic engine (in addition to its separate from its artistic and educational components), and it serves as a reminder that more support of local arts and smaller organizations add up to win-win for local merchants, Broad St. and the City.
“In one summer,” wrote Ted Santarella, owner and chef at Tarrant’s, “Barksdale Theatre has single handedly brought thousands of new faces to our neighborhood. Speaking with other merchants, particularly restaurant operators, we have not only seen an increase in foot traffic into our businesses, but felt the positive impact on our bottom lines.
Barksdale has brought a new market of customers who ‘haven’t been down here in years,’ and may now return on their own to enjoy another evening out.”
Carlos Silva, owner and chef at 27, agrees: “I have been enjoying the benefits of your play (Guys and Dolls). Every weekend my restaurant is full between 5:30 and 7:30. Normally on a Saturday the crowd doesn’t start to grow until 8:00. Thanks to you, I have a full turn of tables before my usual crowd arrives. My revenue has increased across the board.”
Miller concludes:
We’re proud to have been here from the beginning, and to be contributing still to the vitality of this community. We now know that nothing but great things are on the way for this upbeat corner of downtown Richmond!
Take a bow, Bruce and Phil. You deserve it as true pioneers of the Broad St. renaissance.
~
Labels: arts, development, downtown
posted by Jon Baliles | 4:40 PM
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