Lace Fretwell
There are many different types of people that call downtown Radford, VA home. They can be categorized into two groups: locals and students. The reason for this is because the downtown Radford area is so small that not many people go to vacation there. This means that there are a lot of shops and restaurants that are family owned and run. Therefore, they cater to the group that visits them a majority of the time.
The locals that live in this area have lived here for many years already, and those that have recently moved know what they are getting themselves into. Downtown Radford is a college town. Therefore, the shops and restaurants are going to cater to the students because they will be the ones going to these shops the most. Sharkeys is a sports bar that has tons of TVs on the walls and has specials for cheap food and drinks on every day of the week. What is more appetizing to a broke college student than a cheap burger while watching the game on a big screen TV? There is a small bike shop on “the strip” as well that enables students to go buy a bike so they can get around campus quickly.
For the locals on the other hand there are some interesting functions that they go to as well. Every weekend downtown Radford hosts a small Farmers Market. This allows all the local town people that make interesting crafts and grow local fruit and vegetables to sell their products to other locals. I have been to the Famers Market before and did not see many students there buying things, so I think that it is more of a local thing that the town hosts.
All in all, I would not imagine many people coming here to vacation. There is not much that downtown Radford has to offer them as far a vacation spot should offer. This area is set up for mostly students with a few events that cater to the locals.
I would like to see a Forever 21 store down on Main Street though. That would make people more interested in shopping on “the strip” instead of driving all the way to the mall. That way, even the students without cars can go shopping at a familiar store, and when they finish shopping there their eyes will be opened to all the other little shops that downtown Radford has to offer. I honestly believe giving someone an eye catcher, such as a store like Forever 21, makes people want to stop, and then they will want to look around at the area more instead of just driving through and going straight to the mall.
http://article.wn.com/view/2012/08/15/Radford_small_business_owner_turns_down_Biden_visit/
http://www.wdbj7.com/news/wdbj7-lieutenant-governor-bill-bolling-to-give-commencement-speech-at-radford-university-20120322,0,3233346.story
http://www.wdbj7.com/news/wdbj7-radford-woman-is-a-finalist-in-national-baking-contest-20120123,0,3312108.story
Brantley Gilbert
Craig Campbell
Mac Miller
