Adapting to compete
Downtown Mount Vernon transforming to compete with changing trends
by Jacob Block

Whether you are shopping for groceries, the perfect gift or even just a hot cup of coffee, downtown Mount Vernon has everything you need. But these days, you are actually likely to find something a little more unexpected than on your usual shopping trip.
It is an exciting time to be doing business in Mount Vernon, where businesspeople and city officials have been working hard together to attract shoppers to the downtown area. Like many other small downtown shopping centers in Skagit County, like La Conner and Burlington, Mount Vernon’s business community has been forced over the last several years to adapt to increasing competition from malls and big-box stores, and a quick walk through the city center shows just how successful it has been in doing so.
“If you look back 30 years, Mount Vernon was very traditional in terms of the businesses downtown,” said Don Wick, executive director of the Economic Development Association of Skagit County. “Downtown has had to change and become more unique to compete.”
That is why instead of tailors, grocers and hardware stores, downtown Mount Vernon is now beginning to attract very specialized boutiques like the recently-opened oxygen bar Relaxation Station, and WildFibers, specializing in fine yarns. Mount Vernon is also now home to a new shoe repair store, (the only cobbler in Skagit County), and Sammy Jo’s, a specialty candy maker also new to First Street. In fact, according to a 2002 county profile prepared by the Labor Market and Economic Analysis Branch of the Washington State Employment Security Department, retail and wholesale trade has now taken over as the strongest economic sector in a county that used to be driven by timber, agriculture and food processing.
“There has really been a resurgence downtown,” Wick said. “We feel really good about the future and the business climate throughout Skagit County and especially in Mount Vernon.”
And it is not just retail storefronts that are bringing people downtown, the Farmers Market, Lincoln Theatre and Children’s Museum remain major draws both for locals and those simply passing through.
Of course, like most of the Northwest, Mount Vernon has also benefited from stronger-than-average growth. Between 1990 and 2004, the population jumped by over 60 percent from 17,647 to 28,821. This growth represents a rate three times greater than that of the state, and almost five times greater than the nation as a whole.
Today, 90 percent of the storefronts in downtown Mount Vernon are occupied, and the completion of major downtown construction has opened the city center up to shoppers from throughout Skagit County and beyond. For over a year, the Second Street bridge, known in Mount Vernon as The Viaduct, had been closed for improvements including widening and heightening the bridge to allow traffic to flow more freely. It opened October 18 to the delight of shoppers, commuters and business owners. Even during construction, however, most agree that the construction was necessary, and detours caused by closures actually forced many people to go through downtown who otherwise would not have. The Washington State Department of Transportation did a great job of keeping the community up to date on progress and closures, helping to minimize inconvenience.
Perhaps the main reason Mount Vernon has been able to adapt and remain a vibrant shopping destination is the strong cooperation between the city and the business owners, and their commitment to keeping downtown accessible and attractive. The Downtown Business Community of Mount Vernon, (DBC), the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce and city officials, among others, have all come together to make Mount Vernon the thriving shopping center it is today. Recent projects include beautification and anti-litter campaigns, the renovation of buildings such as the historic Lincoln Theatre, and a “Buy Local” campaign. The city will also soon be removing outdated railroads on Main Street and developing the Skagit riverfront as a downtown focus to further solidify Mount Vernon as the center of commerce in Skagit County.
DBC Executive Director Susan Chiabai has been heading the 72-member non-profit for a year now, and said this kind of inter-agency cooperation is key to keeping downtown business strong. As part of her job, Chiabai acts as a liaison between the business community and the mayor, attends city council meetings and actively promotes downtown business by generating a monthly newsletter featuring downtown business news and events. A new website has also recently been launched at www.downtownmountvernon.com to allow people access to that same information online.
“I really encourage all of our members to join the chamber as well as the Downtown Business Community,” she said. “I love our downtown. There’s just this hard-working, entrepreneurial spirit here, and I’m thrilled to be working with all these people.”
Megan O’Bryan, manager of Scott’s Bookstore and president of the DBC Board of Directors said the main role of the DBC is simply to educate both business owners and the community at large about what downtown has to offer. Despite the population growth, she said, many new residents still don’t know what they are missing.
“A lot of people treat Mount Vernon as a bedroom community,” she said. “We have to be constantly educating people. We can’t assume that just because people park their cars here that they know what we have to offer. It’s a constant process of advertising and educating locally.”
Kristen Whitener, president and CEO of the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce, said another reason Mount Vernon has remained strong and been able to attract new business is the strength of existing destination stores like Lyons Furniture, Gretchens and the Skagit County Food Co-op.
“The climate is right,” she said. “We have some great anchor tenants that have really brought the atmosphere downtown. It’s a combination of the people already down there and the city’s willingness to work with business owners. You always go through the lows and the highs, but our downtown is doing really well.”
Whitener added that she only expects the downtown area to get better as the region prepares for international attention from the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, B.C. After studying the economic benefits of Olympic traffic in other areas, she said the key is not to over-prepare, but simply to wait for the residual effects of so many new people becoming aware of what the city has to offer.
“I think we’ll definitely see some positive effects from the Olympics,” she said. “We’re very fortunate in Mount Vernon to be right on the I-5 corridor, so people coming up through Seattle will drive right by us; there will be an international spotlight on the whole area.”
Lack of parking has been a continuing problem in Mount Vernon, as in many small downtown shopping centers, but studies are currently underway to find a way to accommodate the throngs of shoppers that visit every day, including the possible construction of a multi-story parking garage. The Food Co-op is fortunate to have had a 25-car lot adjacent to the store recently opened up for public use, but some employees and customers of other businesses say they are still parking two or three blocks from their destinations. Still, most agree that it has not been a big enough deterrent to affect business, and may actually be a good sign. After all, if there are no cars downtown, there are no shoppers.
The Food Co-op is certainly one of the most visible and successful anchor stores in downtown Mount Vernon. The natural foods store has been open for over 30 years, and recently purchased its current location on First Street. Scott Wood has been general manager of the Food Co-op since 1978, and said he understands that the store’s prominence comes with responsibility.
“We take seriously the fact that we are an anchor store in downtown, and as such we try to focus on remaining successful,” he said. “We have a strong commitment to keeping business viable in downtown, so buying the building was just a strong demonstration of that support.”
Gretchens is another of downtown Mount Vernon’s most prominent destination businesses. Specializing in upscale kitchen goods and obscure kitchen gadgets, Gretchens has been a mainstay on First Street for more than eight years.
Owner Gretchen Pickett, who previously ran Cascade Sports, said she has always believed in downtown Mount Vernon as a shopping center, and she only sees it getting better.
“It’s the county seat, it’s right off I-5, and traffic is so awful going south that people from as far south as Everett are coming north to shop,” she said. “Now (the city) is about to start developing the (Skagit) River as a focal point, and people are also starting to talk about the Olympic Games coming to Vancouver.”
Gretchens Manager Jama Hiltz has been with Gretchens for the full eight years it has been in business, but even before that she had worked in downtown Mount Vernon since the late 1980s. She said that even with all the outside competition, downtown shopping still appeals to a lot of shoppers just because of the personal touch and the familiarity of long-standing businesses.
“A downtown projects the whole image of a city,” Hiltz said. “You can get a lot of the same merchandise at the big-box stores that we carry, but you’re not going to get the same level of customer service. People are hungry to go to a downtown and talk to real people. We have time for that, and that is why we are successful. All of the stores downtown are like that – a lot of the same people are still here that were there 20 years ago.”
All in all, Mount Vernon is looking good, and if all these businesspeople and city officials continue to work together to the same end, the future looks even better. If you haven’t already, pay a visit and see for yourself what can happen when dedicated communities cooperate.

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