Downtown Kent features a wide variety of businesses for all to enjoy. With bars, restaurants, coffee shops, clothing stores and more, it offers something for everyone.
Yet, it always seems there’s a business or two closing or moving to another location. In the past few years, businesses including Bricco, Kenko, Little City Grill and Twisted Meltz have closed in the past few years.
Hippie Fox Rocks has been a staple of Downtown Kent and Acorn Alley since it opened its doors in December 2021, but the shop has recently been struggling. Owner Jared Abell said business in 2024 has been “the worst we’ve ever done.”
“We are 17 straight months of running a loss from the previous year,” he said. “We’re seeing a significantly smaller amount of people coming downtown.”
Abell also said there are direct challenges causing less people to go downtown. The two most prominent are parking and citywide marketing. Both of which are more accessible in Downtown Hudson and Cuyahoga Falls, which compete with Kent for customers, he added.
“There is enough parking; it’s just that people don’t want to pay for it because surrounding communities have plenty of free parking options,” Abell said. “A lot of times we just aren’t doing, collectively as a city, as a group of entrepreneurs, a good enough job of letting people know that there are a lot of things in Downtown Kent.”
Despite these concerns, Eric Helmstedter, economic development director of Kent, said the turnover rate isn’t a problem for the area.
“It’s consistent with other communities,” Helmstedter said. “Maybe even a little lower.”
Helmstedter has been acting as permanent director going back a year, and said in that time span around five to six businesses have closed. He added that every business faces its own challenges and has different reasons for why it may close.
“There’s not a one-size-fits-all as far as problems, concerns or issues; there’s not a blanket reason,” Helmstedter said. “There might be certain reasons for a restaurant [closing] as opposed to retail.”
Helmstedter also addressed why restaurants in the area seem to be hit hardest by turnover and closures. He said the industry has a higher failure rate compared to other sectors, and the closures in Kent are “on par with industry trends.”
Dennis Campbell, executive director of Kent Area Chamber of Commerce, also said business turnover in the area isn’t “problematic.” However, he did say the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have been a big factor in changing people’s shopping habits.
“When people used to travel into work and they worked in an office, they may frequent shops around the area when they’re driving through,” he said. “But as people aren’t traveling as much out of their houses or they’re working from home, they’re less likely to make purchases, shop or explore new areas.”
Customer bases, a businesses’ targeted demographic or group of people, is another important factor. Kent is a college town, so the majority of customer bases for these downtown businesses are college students, who might be prone to financial troubles or are only living in the area periodically.
To solve this issue, some businesses have begun changing their target customer base, especially over the last year, Campbell said.
“[Businesses’] main target is not the college students,” he said. “Their target is to make sure they are people that live locally, people that live regionally, and are coming into town for special functions.”
Regarding some of the problems Abell mentioned, Helmstedter said the engineering department is conducting an evaluation of downtown parking, and any future proceedings depend on the findings. On the issue of marketing, Campbell said it’s the businesses’ responsibility to handle their own advertising, but the chamber does offer some resources to assist.
In terms of where struggling businesses can look for help, Campbell said the city and nonprofits, like the chamber and Main Street Kent, all do their part to attract businesses, help them develop and create a thriving environment with high traffic flow.
He said the chamber offers coaching and programming related to marketing, tax information, brand tips and current city trends.
“There’s a lot of resources for businesses in the community, and we have a lot of different ways we can support them and help them be successful,” Campbell said. “I would always say to any business, ‘I’m there to support you and help you, so if you need something, ask for it. It doesn’t hurt for you to ask for help.’”
John Engoglia is a beat reporter. Contact him at [email protected].
