Carolina Pizza Company's Sasquatch statue is still standing on East Main Street. It's charred from the fire, and the restaurant behind it is gone. Palmetto Media Company noted the statue was still upright after the early-morning fire on Sept. 17. It has become the easiest way to describe the block to anyone who hasn't driven past since.
Meanwhile, the City of Walhalla wants every storefront on Main Street lit up. Its holiday window contest runs on the same theme as this year's parade, "Christmas Traditions Through the Decades." Windows must be decorated by Friday, Nov. 27. The block that burned won't have windows to light. What happens to the windows on either side of it over the next six weeks matters more than most people realize.
The block that burned, and the businesses beside it
According to The Journal, the fire started around 3:30 a.m. on Main Street between Catherine and Tugaloo streets. Seventeen fire departments from across the Upstate responded, and no one was hurt. Fox Carolina reported seven buildings destroyed and six business owners without a place to work. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating the cause.
The rest of downtown is open. At a council meeting in October, city officials said many businesses near the fire were seeing fewer customers even though they never closed. "We're in it for the long haul with them," Poulson told council, as The Journal reported. "Walhalla is still open for business."
The obstacles are physical. The walkway through the damaged area couldn't safely reopen because part of a building appeared to lean over the path. Parking has been a steady complaint since the fire. Demolition is up to the building owners and their insurance companies. Poulson said the owner "has been working with us 100 percent," and added that "sometimes insurance is not as in much a rush as we are."
The same meeting that covered lost parking and the closed walkway also looked at detour signs to steer customers to the businesses that are still open. Downtown businesses that lost sales were invited to the city's business meeting along with the ones that lost their buildings.
Where the displaced businesses are operating
The businesses that lost their storefronts have gone in different directions. Here's where each one stands, based on what their owners have said publicly.
| Business | What it was | Where things stand |
|---|---|---|
| Alexander's Coffee House & Cafe | Puerto Rican coffee and cafe on Main Street | Serving from its food trailer. The Alexander's Facebook page posts the trailer's location and hours |
| Middle of Main Antiques | George Cobb's shop for nearly 20 years | Cobb has been setting up a temporary space at 103 E. Main St. and plans to return to his old block once it's rebuilt |
| Carolina Pizza Company | Pizza place with the Sasquatch out front | Owner has said they're working out how to rebuild |
| Taqueria Los Arcos | Taqueria | Owners have been looking at new locations in Walhalla |
| Tienda y Taqueria Mundo Hispano | Market and taqueria | Owners have been looking at new locations in Walhalla |
Alexander's posted a thank-you on its website: "We are working hard to find a place to regrow Alexander's, and we look forward to welcoming you back to a space of our own. Until then, we hope to see you at the trailer." Levi Shook, an owner of Alexander's Coffee House & Cafe, Alexander's Work & Wander and Walhalla Workspace, told The Journal that relief money could help keep the trailer running while insurance settlements are pending.
Cobb built his business by talking with whoever walked in. "I like talking to people, finding out where they're from, and that's how I built my business for 19 years," he told the same paper. His temporary space is on the same street, so a holiday walk down Main can include a stop to say hello.
What the window contest asks of the rest of Main Street
The contest rules show who it's for. Any business on Main Street, or on a side street within one block of it, can enter. Displays have to face the street or sidewalk, use string lights in some form, and stay lit from 5 p.m. until sunrise for the whole voting period. Anyone in the community can vote through the city's Facebook and website polls.
So the judges are residents driving or walking past after dark, which is the traffic the shops near the fire have been missing. Every vote starts with someone coming downtown to look at the windows.
The dates:
- Friday, Nov. 13, 5 p.m.: Christmas parade entry applications due
- Friday, Nov. 27: Window decorating deadline
- Friday, Dec. 4: Voting closes
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 5 p.m.: Walhalla Christmas Parade, with window winners announced
Parade filming and judging happen at the City Green next to Arby's. Each entry can stop for a routine of 30 seconds or less there. Judges pick Best of Parade, Best Performance and Best Antique Vehicle.
Friday nights that already bring people downtown
Downtown's most reliable crowd builder sits a block off Main. The Walhalla Performing Arts Center, at 101 E. N. Broad St., has shows on most Fridays through November:
- Friday, Nov. 13, 7:30 p.m.: Sammy Kershaw
- Friday, Nov. 27, 7:30 p.m.: Rumours, a Fleetwood Mac tribute
The city's events calendar also lists Interstellar Echoes, a Pink Floyd tribute, on Nov. 20, and storyteller and novelist Sean Dietrich on Dec. 5, the same day as the parade.
The Rumours show falls on the same day as the window deadline. By that Friday, the windows should be lit from 5 p.m. on, and the curtain goes up at 7:30. A ticket that night puts you downtown with time to walk Main Street and vote on the way in.
The arts center has already helped once. It turned a casino night into a fire-recovery fundraiser, and the Walhalla Oktoberfest Committee gave $5,000 and directed this year's festival tips to the relief effort.
Where the relief money has gone
The Greater Oconee Chamber of Commerce Foundation set up the Walhalla Fire Relief Fund with Blue Ridge Bank and its foundation. Three weeks after the fire, the chamber handed out $47,000. Ten businesses applied and all of them received money, with most of it going to the six hit hardest. Businesses can still apply, and those already funded can update their applications as they learn more about their losses. The Journal listed the checks going to Robert Owens, Underwood Custom Embroidery, Laurel Weber, Abide Custom Builders, Carolina Pizza Company, Middle of Main, Alexander's Coffee House & Cafe, Alexander's Work & Wander, Tienda y Taqueria Mundo Hispano and Taqueria Los Arcos.
Chamber president Dari McBride told The Journal:
"This is a marathon, not a sprint. These businesses are going to be working for a long, long time, so those of you out there, please continue to give. Please continue to support these businesses."
You can give through the fund's online donation form or at any Blue Ridge Bank branch. Neighbors have pitched in too. WYFF reported that Tammy Smith, owner of Willow Lane Cottage Gifts on East Main Street, collected donations in her store for the businesses next door.
There's government help as well. The U.S. Small Business Administration accepted Gov. Henry McMaster's request, which opened Economic Injury Disaster Loans to affected businesses. City council waived September hospitality-tax fees for businesses the fire shut down, which the city estimated at about $3,200.
Ideas on the city's list for the new year
Several proposals from that council meeting go straight at the foot-traffic problem. Councilman David Underwood suggested temporary parking on city-owned land at the edge of Owens Park, near Blue Ridge Bank. The city also discussed detour signs pointing shoppers to businesses that are still open. Officials said they plan to speed up inspections so displaced businesses can reopen quickly once they find new locations. The city has also held roundtables at the Walhalla Community Center, 845 Woodward Way, asking for ideas to bring more shoppers and diners downtown.
One date to watch is Dec. 31. That's when the city's current plan ends use of its food truck lot. Council said it wants to revisit that because the lot could give a displaced business somewhere to operate.
At Thomas & Crain Real Estate, Main Street Walhalla is our backyard. We'll keep sharing updates as the East Main block rebuilds and its businesses find new homes. If you're a neighbor wondering how changes downtown might affect your own place, request a free home valuation and we'll walk you through it in person.
