Story by Carol Pappas
Photos courtesy of Downtown Gadsden Inc.
Sometimes, the best laid business plans are the ones you never intended.
Just ask Kay Moore, executive director of Downtown Gadsden Inc. Fourteen years after First Friday kicked off, thousands of people from all over the Southeast now make downtown Gadsden their destination point on the first Friday of each month from April to October from 6 to 9 p.m.
Downtown blocks close on those Friday afternoons to make way for food trucks, musical entertainment, performers, cars, cars and more cars. And where those attractions set up shop – up and down Broad Street and beyond – crowds have followed. “It’s not exactly what we planned when we started it,” Moore said. “It may not be what it started out to be, but it probably is what it is supposed to be.”
It would be hard to argue with that conclusion. Six to eight thousand people from all over the Southeast head to downtown Gadsden for the car show alone. Add to that more throngs from the city and surrounding region, and what it has become is one huge success story by any measure.
The motive was to get downtown Gadsden discovered or rediscovered. Like countless other places, downtown was once the thriving heart of any city. But malls and big box stores lured shoppers and diners elsewhere, and downtowns paid the price.
Determined to bring their downtown back from the brink, a handful of visionaries in Gadsden saw the potential for a rebound and set out to make it happen.
The forerunner was Sylvia Smith, who was looking for ways to attract customers to her Stone Market on Court Street. She started having entertainment and other attractions spaced up to the 400 block, and it started spreading from there to Broad Street.
Two years later, the doll shop owner, who had friends in the car show circuit, helped introduce the car show to First Fridays, the engine that drives the successes that followed. “It has exploded since then,” Moore said. “It’s what put Gadsden on the map.”
Cars of all makes and models – old, new, vintage – line the streets. Passersby stroll through, pausing to get a better look at one that catches their eye. Food vendors handle the overflow of hungry attendees from local restaurants, cafes, bars and pizza joints. The local eateries alone can’t handle the growing crowds, so food vendors are the only non-local vendors allowed in.
There’s plenty more than cars and food. Like music? Take your pick. There’s gospel, rock, easy listening, jazz and country performers strategically placed throughout downtown. “You walk down the street, and you hear what you want to hear,” Moore said, referencing the variety.
But the centerpiece of it all is still the motive – downtown shopping and dining. “It has a huge economic impact on merchants,” she noted. “They may not ring the cash register that night, but they come back.” It is not unusual to hear merchants recount how their business increased in the days that follow. “The next Saturday, they may come from Birmingham, Huntsville or Centre. They come back because of something they saw at First Friday.”
It’s seen as a return to a time of building relationships with the people you do business with, coming back to the city’s heart and discovering its soul. It’s a return to a nostalgic, main street experience.
While it may be tempting to order online, that’s the “easy way out,” Moore explained. “We want people to remember that we’re here – check out our gift shops and restaurants.”
With a nod to Downtown Gadsden’s tag line, it’s “small town, small shops, big treasures and great tastes” all rolled into one stroll down main street. “You’ll find something you didn’t know you needed,” Moore said. “I promise you that.”
Editor’s Note: First Friday returns April 1 at 6 p.m. For more information, go to: downtowngadsden.com
