It has been one hot summer for downtown Dowagiac, and we are not just talking about the weather.

A number of new businesses have sprung up in and around the downtown area the last few months, offering new services and experiences to local customers just in time for the busy season.

The newest addition to business district, Casual Tees, is in the midst of making its big move from its current location in Eau Claire to the former Dowagiac Commercial Printing building on Lagrange Street. Owned by Coloma’s David Johnson, the company will offer custom designed screen-printing and embroidered T-shirts, along with other services for customers and businesses living in Dowagiac and beyond.

Johnson said he is hoping to open the doors on the new location by the end of August.

The move should be a natural fit for the business and Johnson, especially considering one of his biggest customers is Four Winds Casino, he said.

Casual Tees is just the latest business to either open or relocate to the heart of the city in recent months.

In June, Marcellus’ Michelle and Jason McNeal moved their flooring company, The Floor Store, from its location outside of Dowagiac on M-51 to a storefront in the Donker Shopping Plaza, across the street from the Dowagiac Area History Museum. The migration has paid off big time for the business, the owners said, bringing in additional visibility and patronage.

Several other businesses have popped up over the summer as well — the biggest of which is the Round Oak Revisited restaurant, located inside the former Round Oak Restaurant building. The eatery has already reestablished itself as popular dining location among locals, giving them another great place to eat, drink and gather.

With the money the city is investing in new parking and improvements to portions of downtown, it is nice to see that business is keeping pace with the visual overhauls in the works.

While the new aesthetics will no doubt be pleasing to see and the added parking will be a tremendous benefit to customers, at the end of the day what will keep people coming to visit downtown will be the wonderful variety of shops, restaurants and offices that provide a level of service unable to be matched by charmless chains and big box stores.

We wish the best of luck to our local business owners, old and new, and hope they continue to rack up new neighbors in the years to come.

 

Opinions expressed are those of the editorial board consisting of Publisher Michael Caldwell and editors Ambrosia Neldon, Craig Haupert, Ted Yoakum and Scott Novak.