BOZEMAN — Things downtown look a lot different now than they did last year.
“People are definitely coming out more and the tourists are definitely coming back,” said Makai-Lynn Randall, with the Bozeman Downtown Partnership.
In fact, this might even be a record year.
“As far as I’ve seen, it looks like this season is shaping up to be a lot busier than any season that we’ve seen in the past, which I think we’re ready for despite a staffing shortage that we’re recovering from," said Randall. "I think that people are coming back and they’re ready to get downtown.”
A year ago, a lot of businesses were struggling to make ends meet. But now it seems there’s been a turnaround.
“It’s been awesome," said Ashley Gjermo, the general manager at Main Street Market. "We’ve had a lot of great feedback from the community members, from tourists, from kids, adults, everyone.”
Main Street Market actually opened this location about a month ago and the mixture of residents and tourists has already convinced them they made a good decision.
“During the week we get a lot of people who live here, lot of people who work downtown or near downtown," said Gjermo. "I would say Saturdays and Sundays tend to lean into that tourist side. But I can say pretty confidently every day we have a pretty good mix of both in here.”
And with the increased customers, comes an increased sense that life downtown is returning.
“The more foot traffic, the more vehicle traffic, I definitely believe that our businesses are able to feel a sense of normalcy and things are getting back to normal and we’re able to dive into summer and get back into it,” said Randall.
The Downtown Bozeman Partnership has already announced a lot of events they’re bringing back this year. For a full list of those events, visit here.
