Future
looks bright for Carefree merchants
Carefree’s
town center is as laid back and relaxed as any place you’ll
find.
With
quaint shops, trendy art galleries, cool restaurants and
friendly, accommodating merchants, why would anyone want
to venture to the big city to do their shopping?
“I
think this area is an undiscovered jewel,” says Doug Stavoe,
who, along with wife Monica, owns the recently opened
Blue Sky, a coffeehouse, restaurant and art galley located
in the heart of the town’s center on Easy Street.
“We
love Carefree. It’s a great community with great people.
We’ve been open a month. We decided we wanted to create
a unique environment here.”
The
Stavoes and several other merchants are pushing to make
Carefree a destination for people who want to see what
a small town has to offer away from the urban sprawl to
the south.
“We
realize Carefree is going to grow,” Stavoe says. “Every
place is growing. But Carefree is going to be beautiful
for a long time. The town center is going to become more
of a jewel as the town grows. People want to be able to
come and relax. Many of our visitors are on leisure time
and Carefree needed a place for people to come and hang
out.”
Doug
Mowry owns and operates Amano Folk Art a few doors down
from Blue Sky. He’s a longtime Carefree merchant who’s
been in business for 12 years.
“People
told me they thought I was crazy when I moved here,” Amano
remembers. “I always thought there was great potential
here. I expanded three years ago. It’s definitely been
worth it. Downtown Carefree has incredible potential and
the prevailing attitude (among the shop owners) is to
keep the chains out and encourage local owners to move
here.”
“Explosive”
is how Holly Bergman describes the “resurrection” of the
downtown Carefree area.
Bergman
is the owner and operator of Wold Holly Gallery an “American
artist gallery,” featuring artists’ work from “Hawaii
to Maine,” located in the heart of the town center.
She
sees the Easy Street Project as the shot in the arm the
merchants and citizens of Carefree needed.
“It’s
a phenomenal opportunity,” she said. “As long as we’re
in control. We have a say in the architecture. It’s going
to be small, not a big‑box galleria.
“It’s
far better to be in control of your destiny than have
someone else do it for you.”
Bergman
offers advice to any newcomer looking to start a business
in Carefree.
“If
you don’t take care of your customer, someone else will
do it for you,” she says. “Your customer is your most
valuable asset. We bend over backwards, sometimes a little
too far, for our customers.”
Talk
about quaint, how about the English Rose Tea Room?
Jo
Gemmill’s shop, located on a corner in the town’s center,
is a step back in time to merry old England. Customers
can drink their tea and eat crumpets in a quiet, relaxed
atmosphere not found in the big city.
Gemmill
says the proposed Easy Street project will have a positive
effect on the growth of downtown Carefree.
“I
think it will bring a bigger customer flow in the future,”
she says. “I don’t see how it can hurt anything. It will
give us a higher profile.”
In
the past Gemmill has closed her shop for the summer months
when the tourist traffic slows down.
