Everett isn’t too keen on second-hand stores.
And maybe you’ve noticed a dearth of tattoo shops and pawnshops along some of the city’s better tended downtown streets — or as some like to call it, the E-town grotto.
That’s because they’re not allowed. At least, not for right now.
Everett is trying to maintain a “window-shopping atmosphere” along core areas of Hewitt, Colby, Wetmore and Rockefeller avenues. That means excluding businesses that might make walking less desirable in those areas, though there’s no shortage of pawnshops and tattoo parlors just a few blocks away.
Herald writer Debra Smith had a story over the weekend about a proposal that could create an exception to the rule — but only for second-hand stores.
The reason? Landlords can’t rent their storefronts out. They say something has to give.
“We have so much resistance to put antiques on Hewitt, and I don’t get it,” Dennis Wagner told the Herald. He manages thousands of square feet of downtown space.
He added: “Our cry to the city is we think we could lease every vacant space if we could have antiques and boutiques.”
Read the rest of the story here. And tell us what you think: Do the restrictions make sense to you?
Know a small business we should write about? Contact Herald writer Amy Rolph at arolph@heraldnet.com.
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