What makes an island town center vibrant and appealing?

The small businesses in our local downtown core are undergoing a range of stresses that threaten their ability to remain open and relevant. Imagine a downtown without Eagle Harbor Book Company, a family owned furniture store, a unique and locally owned place for people to meet for coffee or a contemporary clothing store.

These are just a few of the businesses that add to the character of the island.

News of Elliott Bay Books plight in Seattle could be an indication that we also may be in danger of losing Eagle Harbor Book Company.

It’s a store where locals select from a range of books, islanders comfortably browse, authors read from their newly published books, special orders are efficiently carried out and used books are resold.

In this comfortable and appealing environment young children are introduced to the pleasures of selecting a book tailored to their curious minds.

The shift to online and off island shopping and tighter budget planning have threatened the local community based stores across the country.

If you choose to shop on line many of the stores on the island including Eagle Harbor Books are accessible. I encourage community members to support our local bookstore and the other shops that meet your needs.

If we don’t support these businesses they will disappear and we may end up with boarded up window fronts and off island shopping at big box stores.

Supporting local shops costs a little bit more at times but the societal rewards for having pleasant shops and the knowledge that local businesses and jobs are being preserved is worth it.

This is the time to come together as a community to protect and preserve our town center and island character.

It would be enlightening to know what other islanders points of view are on the challenges local businesses are facing.

Bonny Lawrence

Port Blakely Heights