'We’re in uncharted waters': Downtown Akron businesses reflect amid curfews, protests

Downtown Akron businesses have confronted one obstacle after another over the last four years.

First it was the city’s ongoing Main Street Corridor Project, which led to a plummet in sales for most restaurants on Main Street. Then the pandemic canceled events and closed office doors, effectively reducing downtown foot traffic to the most meager of crawls. Now, a series of curfews and protests after the police shooting death of Jayland Walker have left some businesses short on customers and unshattered windows.

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The city’s downtown area has been battling the perception that it is unsafe for years, according to Howard Parr, executive director of the Akron Civic Theatre, and Dominic Caruso, spokesperson for Downtown Akron Partnership.

Some business owners worry that recent events have perpetuated that stigma and will lead to fewer customers in the long term. Terrence Shavers, co-owner of Perfect Pour, is holding out hope that business will pick up soon.

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“With the current situation you don't know what you're going to get right now,” Shavers said. “It’s just a lot going on in the city of Akron, so there's a lot of unanswered questions. So, we're kind of preparing for the worst right now.”

After Walker’s death, the city of Akron canceled its Rib, White and Blue Festival, and the concerts planned at Lock 3 the following weekend were moved to Goodyear Theater. More shows may be moved in the future depending on what’s going on downtown, according to Parr.

At least one downtown staple, The Peanut Shoppe, is feeling the ill effects of these cancellations and relocations. Owner Marge Klein considers herself to be a positive person and hopes that somehow the community will be able to work together and move forward.

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“We’re in uncharted waters. It's a day at a time, a week at a time and who comes to town from wherever,” she said. “It's unfortunate, everything that’s happening right now, but all we can do is pray for peace and that people will come back to our town when they realize it's safe.”

Klein and several other downtown businesses either opened later or closed fully during Walker’s funeral at the Akron Civic Theatre. Some closed because they knew business would be slow, others were concerned about protests sparked by the funeral and several, like Klein, closed out of respect for the Walker family.

Baxter’s Speakeasy closed to mourn in solidarity with the rest of the city, according to owner Timothy Baxter. The bar began having issues paying staff once the curfews and protests began because it opens at 7 p.m. and closes at either 11 p.m. or 1 a.m.

“Akron scared people from going downtown, which made my staff scared about how they were going to pay their bills,” Baxter said. “We had to cancel bands from out of town, close our doors for entire evenings and explain to guests what was going on because a lot of people didn’t know what was going on.”

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Despite these hiccups, Baxter is not worried about how current events will affect downtown in the long term. He said the speakeasy is here for the larger picture and will remain a safe space where the community can come together and talk about the issues affecting it.

“Rather than focusing on the loss we have chosen to get creative and focus on the gain in community,” he said. “Akron is a community full of wild and wonderful people with passion that runs deep. We have always and will always prevail through the toughest of times.”

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What would Baxter's response be to someone who had safety concerns about coming to downtown Akron?

“The 20 to 50 people who got caught in the crossfire were not downtown to hurt anyone but to make a statement, mourn and to use their right to be heard. Downtown was never unsafe,” Baxter replied.

According to Parr, there’s been a substantial increase in activity and people downtown over the past five years in spite of the major setbacks that have occurred. He too has a positive outlook on the long-term health of downtown Akron.

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“It's understandable to look at the situation right now and say, ‘This is very bad,’ and it is very bad for the community and obviously for Jayland Walker’s family,” Parr said. “But in the long run, we all just need to keep doing what we do, and over a period of time we're seeing a very, very positive trend for downtown Akron. That's what we need to keep focused on.”

He encourages anyone concerned about their safety downtown to contact Downtown Akron Partnership’s ambassadors. This group assists with safety escorts, vehicle lockouts, jump-starts and other services from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

Contact Beacon Journal reporter Tawney Beans at tbeans@gannett.com and on Twitter @TawneyBeans.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Downtown Akron businesses hope for normalcy amid curfews, protests