THE PENDULUM

When Stephen Cox closed the doors of Roaster's Coffee Shop in downtown Burlington to focus specifically on roasting coffee beans, his former employees picked up the reins.

Stephanie Pratt and Kelly Vines bought a space down the street to open a new shop, keeping their regular customers and selling Cox's coffee. The two opened The Perk-O-Later Nov. 21 on Davis Street.

The coffee shop is part of a string of businesses that have opened this fall with the common goal of adding to the local scene of downtown Burlington in hopes of revitalizing the area.

With the opening of these stores — a coffee shop, a pizza place, a consignment shop and a Thai restaurant, among others — there's hope for the culture of downtown to have more to offer.

The Burlington Downtown Corporation, a nonprofit organization that is part of the nationwide downtown redevelopment-oriented Main Street Program, is one of the strongest supporters of the development. As an entity that joined The Main Street Program in 1988, the organization has recently refocused its goals.

Formerly, it was an event-coordinating group, said Executive Director Anne Morris, who was hired in June.

"We are really in a rebuilding stage," Morris said. "My position has been vacant for four years."

By creating a master plan in 2008, Morris said the organization has become more about managing the various parties involved in revitalizing downtown.

"Our charge is to encourage both public and private investment in the downtown area," she said.

Pratt said she has noticed a difference in the downtown area.

"I feel like it's busier down here," Pratt said. "You see more cars, you see more people on foot."

Despite the increasingly positive trends, all businesses in the city's center struggle with retaining customers inthe evening.

"I think all the shops close early because when LabCorp leaves, it's like a ghost town," said Angie Ball, owner of Rare Breed Tattoo shop, which recently relocated to the heart of downtown.

LabCorp, as one of the largest institutions of downtown Burlington and a Fortune-500 company, is a major player in the downtown business scene because many of its employees venture into the various restaurants for lunch during the day. Pratt said that many of the coffee shop's customers are LabCorp employees. For now, her shop closes at one p.m. every day, because she says it's not worth staying open for the handful of customers that will come in.

LabCorp, one of the largest institutions of downtown Burlington and a Fortune-500 company, is a major player in the downtown business scene because many of its employees venture into the various restaurants for lunch.

Pratt said many of the coffee shop's customers are LabCorp employees. For now, her shop closes at 1 p.m. everyday, because she says it's not worth staying open for the handful of customers that come in after that.

Billy Konstantinidis opened The Pizza Corner three weeks ago with his wife, Koula, and said that they hope to draw a night crowd. They are one of the few businesses to stay open later than LabCorp's closing every evening.

"After five it's dead," he said, referring to downtown. "In a pizza business, you need the night crowd, too."

Another problem that faces the downtown businesses right now is a lack of available parking for customers. Vines said all the parallel parking spots in front of the stores get taken up by LabCorp employees, even though there are separate lots for them to park, because they are closer to the actual buildings.

"You have nowhere to park during the day," said Ball. "I mean nowhere." She said that customers drive through downtown but do not stop because they can't park. A free city lot sits on off Front St., but it remains mostly unused, said Vines.

Morris said that the city has plans to address the issue. "In the short term, management of the existing supply of parking will provide the greatest benefit to downtown business owners for the lowest cost. Longer term solutions will look at how to increase the supply of parking as demand increases," she said.

One plan that the BDC has been talking to Elon University about is the development of a new BioBus route that would run into downtown Burlington and serve as free public transportation. Keith Dimont, the supervisor of automotive services at Elon, said that the plan has been key for students doing community service, and that the Kernodle Center for Service Learning has been instrumental in developing the plan.

"I think it's going to be real successful, because it's a lot of volunteers that like having the free public transportation," he said. "Plus, it gives (the city) the opportunity to expand the downtown Burlington area."

Though the bus route will have a strong emphasis on service work, it will be a chance for students to make the trip to downtown Burlington, where business owners said they would welcome the business. "It seems like a lot of younger people don't venture down here," said Pratt, continuing to say that she and Vines have been in talks with other businesses to offer events that would draw Elon students.

Though the bus route will have a strong emphasis on service work, it will be a chance for students to make the trip to downtown Burlington, where business owners said they would welcome the business. "It seems like a lot of younger people don't venture down here," Pratt said. She and Vines have been in talks with other businesses to offer events that would draw Elon students.

"I don't think Elon students are really taking advantage of (the businesses downtown)... if they go to Burlington, it's out of absolute necessity," said senior Lesley Cowie. "I'm sure if students were to go downtown more, those businesses would be booming."

Morris said that the BDC works closely with the businesses to address the issues they see, while attempting to expand upon the groundwork that's been laid in the last few months.

"There are some things percolating, big and small... my hope is that this is a trend," she said. "In my view, you can't have a great city without a great downtown," said Morris.

For now, the city remains in a transitional period, with nearly empty streets at night and issues of parking to address.

The hope is to create a stronger cultural base, which is a theme that was reiterated by both business owners and Morris. She said that her hope is to see a downtown that has a collection of shops and a unique retailing environment, with a nightlife that extends beyond when LabCorp closes and creates a distinct Burlington culture.