Denton city leaders took some complaints on Tuesday about its downtown square going too heavy on the bar scene.
The Denton City Council is taking on the question: how many bars and restaurants are too many in their downtown area?
On Tuesday, the council held a special work session to discuss several issues in the downtown area, including that one.
According to a chart compiled by the city’s Department of Economic Development, bars, restaurants and coffee shops now make up about 36 percent of the business in the downtown area and on the popular Square.
Economic Development Director Aimee Bissett said that’s a shift, especially on the Square where it was long a popular retail spot. It still has plenty of stores to go around with 43 in the area, but now the food and drink population sits ahead at 46.
Bissett said the issue first came up from some residents when the long-standing County Seat Antiques moved away from their spot on the Square recently, leaving many to wonder if the shift of the area to the bar and restaurant demand was to blame.
While businesses ultimately look at demand and decide if they want to set up shop in the area, Economic Development and other city organizations can market open spaces on the Square to other business types. Howeve, Bissett said the current trend may be the best way to do that.
“The best way to attract more retail into downtown Denton is to have businesses that drive a lot of foot traffic and what we’ve seen is that restaurants have been very successful,” she said.
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Although many shopping the Square Tuesday said they still find plenty of variety in the area and usually see a good amount of visitors checking things out, several said they aren’t really concerned about the shift in dynamics.
“It’s a college town,” said Megan Helms of Denton, “I don’t think there’s too many.”
The city council was also scheduled to look at options Tuesday to better the parking and noise situations in downtown with the growing residential population living there.
The discussions on all of these matters are expected to be on-going.
