YES, WE’RE OPEN!
A group of small business owners in downtown Taylor want people to know not only are they holding on during challenging economic times — they are doing well.
Amid reports of increasing property taxes, Samsung Austin Semiconductor delaying opening until 2026 and the recent closure of Hola Aloha near Second and Main streets, some local entrepreneurs said there are also many overlooked positive signs of strength in the local economy.
“For us, business is great,” said Kirstin Sheldrake, owner of Neighborhood Bottle Shoppe, a specialty craft beer store that just celebrated its one-year anniversary at Second and Talbot streets, part of the McCrory Timmerman Building. “We have a very niche market that draws people from Temple to Pflugerville to Round Rock, and we even have people from Austin coming to us.”
In fact, Sheldrake said her retail shop was chosen as one of only two locations in the greater Austin area last April to sell a coveted limited release of Cantillon, a sour lambic Belgian ale.
“I had people come from Austin to wait in line, even before we opened,” Sheldrake said. “I sold out of that case within the first hour.”
Hayley Blundell, the owner of Hayley’s Grains, which specializes in local, organic and plasticfree bulk shopping, said she is also seeing increased traffic one year after moving to a much larger space at the corner of Second and Main.
“Overall, the store is doing great,” Blundell said. “I started back in May of 2021 just selling grains at the Farmers’ Market, and then I moved into the small space on Talbot Street (where the bottle is today), and then moved here. I get a lot of my regulars from the community coming in, and I also get a lot of people who come in from as far as Waco and Bastrop.”
Blundell also noted the successful expansion of her store’s new next-door neighbor, Curio Mrvosa, which sells rare vintage and second-hand books, new releases, art prints and more.
Still, Blundell said she has also seen some business closures during this time of transition, before Samsung comes online.
“Taylor is in kind of a funky space where we have all this projected growth coming our way, which has impacted the property taxes, which impacts our rent as business owners here or tenants,” Blundell said. “But there is not the population here yet to help balance that out.”
However, Blundell said that is only part of the story.
“That’s not to say downtown isn’t thriving,” Blundell said. “We have many very unique and interesting businesses, a lot of them are minority owned, women owned and very tailored for the community.”
In addition, Blundell said many Taylor retailers are offering events and expanding business hours, including the new coffee shop Ripple & Rose Cafe, 109 W. Third St., which is open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
“We have multiple businesses now that are open seven days a week,” Blundell said. “And those that aren’t, are open five days a week.”
Jennifer Lopez, owner of Alchemy at 119 W. Second St., said she also has many daytrippers who come just to shop her curated selection of clothing, home decor and more.
“The whole premise of my business is basically knowing the story of where your stuff comes from,” she said. “I go shopping in Mexico City, Oaxaca and places like that. You can walk into my shop, and I can tell you, ‘Oh, that is from Morocco, or that is from India.’ Sometimes, I even know the artisan who made it.”
Lopez said she and other business owners are focused on making Taylor an attractive destination for people to visit — and not as much on the future population influx that is expected with Samsung.
“Taylor is a great day trip,” she said. “If we just focus on creating this downtown that’s exciting and continue to provide businesses or events that bring people in, that is what is going to save downtown historic Taylor, not this thing that is happening 10 miles from here.”
Doug Moss, who coowns several buildings in the downtown as well as the Talbot Commons Pocket Hotel, said he also sees positive trends in Taylor as well as challenges, including many property owners having large spaces that are sometimes difficult to rent to small mom-and-pop shops.
“As a landlord, we’ve stayed full through all of this,” said Moss, an owner of the building where Hayley’s Grains and Curio Mrvosa are located. “We have smaller spaces to rent, which is very helpful.”
Another issue for property owners is taxes, Moss said, which have increased for his buildings by about 65% in three years — with only an average of an 8% increase in revenue from rents and other sources.
“It’s a real challenge,” Moss said. “And then it’s hard for people to say, ‘Oh, I am going to spend even more money on my building and renovate it because now they are already spending more money just with the increase in taxes.'” Despite the hurdles, Moss said he is bullish about Taylor’s future, and foresees new businesses continuing to come into the downtown.
“I think over the long run (having more renovated spaces with modern amenities) will happen more often,” Moss said. “So, I’m actually very positive about what is going on in Taylor. Obviously, with the new hotel that myself and my investors have opened, we are very focused on trying to improve tourism, getting people who are visiting residents in Taylor to use our hotel and make that a part of their downtown Taylor stay. So, we are very optimistic about that.”
Another sign that downtown Taylor still has potential, especially as an entertainment venue, are renewed efforts by a nonprofit and others to restore the 1920’s era Howard Theatre, 308 N. Main St., donors said.
