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Forum focuses on downtown Gainesville
Main Street Gainesville wants to hear from local businesses
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Town hall meeting
What: A discussion of the future of downtown Gainesville
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Georgia Mountains Center, 301 Main St., Gainesville

The Main Street Gainesville Advisory Board is hosting a meeting Tuesday to hear from all types of downtown businesses.

The town hall meeting will be from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Georgia Mountains Center.

Main Street Manager Angela McFarlin Thompson said the group will discuss how business owners feel about things like street closures and events on the square.

“It’s to get feedback on what people would like to see downtown,” Thompson said. “We hear a mixed array. Some people love (events) and some people hate them and we want to hear what’s best.”

McFarlin said the meeting is open to anyone who does business downtown.

“Downtown has so much more than just restaurants and store fronts,” Thompson said. “We have a lot and we wanted to hear from all of them.”

Thompson said the goal is to find the best events that bring people to downtown businesses.

Main Street hosts events on the square throughout the year, including the Blue Sky concert series, the chicken cookoff, mule camp and events during Christmas time.

“Not all those events close off the roads,” Thompson said. “They expose people to our great shops and restaurants.”

Thompson hopes businesses will share their thoughts and goals for the future of the downtown area.

“We also want to talk about improvements for downtown aesthetically and things we can do to make downtown more pedestrian friendly,” Thompson said. “Our job is to make sure all businesses thrive downtown.”

Earlier this year, the city of Gainesville took over the management of Main Street Gainesville, which serves as a small chamber of commerce for downtown businesses. The city also began operating its tourism marketing, which was previously done by the Lake Lanier Convention and Visitors Bureau.