HELP KEEP LOCAL SMALL BIZ VIBRANT…ALL VOICES...

HELP KEEP LOCAL SMALL BIZ VIBRANT…ALL VOICES COUNT!
Pearl Alley Before and After $15k plus renovations at J. Gumbo’s Restaurant, courtesy of Chad McCoury.

Columbus small business owners, patrons and supporters will be gathering today, Monday 8/15/11, 4 pm at 109 N. Front Street. Do you love the atmosphere that small local biz brings to your downtown experience? Be there if you can! Restaurateur Liz Lessner (Betty’s, Surly Girl, Tip Top, Jury Room, Dirty Frank’s) explains, ”Aggressive sidewalk enforcement has threatened to shut down a number of Gay St. patios or forced them to remove flowers, patio umbrellas and other forms of beautification. We would like City Council to change to our sidewalk code (originally written in 1950). We would also like the Mayor to lift enforcement until this issue is resolved.”

Click here to join the discussion on Facebook and here for a history of the issue at columbusunderground.com’s message board. If you’re like me and work 9-6, you can lend your voice by writing mac@columbus.gov or tweeting @MichaelBColeman in support of the cause.

A couple of posts ago I wrote about a Ke$ha concert at the Ohio State Fair. My friends and I started the first round of chants for an encore at show’s end. It’s a silly, seemingly insignificant story…but in truth, it showed me that every voice contributes to a cheering crowd that produces gorgeous, glittery results if you want it THAT bad.