Glendale Looks Beyond Its Antique History Written by Yael Grauer Historic downtown Glendale was long known as Arizona’s antique capital. Its Midwestern charm, mixed with antique stores, vintage boutiques and quaint eateries long made for downtown a destination for those looking to step back in time. But like many downtowns across the country, downtown Glendale has found itself in a bit of an identity crisis. In recent years, it has seen businesses close, budget cuts to its annual events, and city officials rejecting a planned Valley Metro rail extension that could have brought much-needed foot traffic to downtown. “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,” said Katy Engels, director of downtown development for the Glendale Chamber of Commerce. “What’s been done in the past has run its course.” Although Engels said that downtown Glendale can keep some of the quaintness it’s known for, she points out that this won’t bring in the millennials, which is where the money’s at. In order to attract them to downtown, the city will need more music, art and a variety of restaurants.

The opening of new businesses has been a start. Nomadic Ice Cream Rolls and the Lemoncade are bringing in a variety of people to downtown, Engels said. Veggie Rebellion, Arizona’s first vegan grocery store, has brought in the vegan community with monthly pop-up stores and events on their patio. There’s also a new music shop with open mic nights, a restaurant called CUFF connected to a multi-purpose event venue and comedy club called Off the CUFF, and a sports bar that will be opening up right on Glendale Avenue. This past summer, city officials made budget cuts to the Glendale Glitters weekend events that bring 250,000 people a year to downtown to look at 1 million Christmas lights and patronize downtown shops and restaurants. While the lights will remain lit for the holidays, two weekends in December will no longer see city-run events as had been the case for years. As new shops move in and cuts are made to signature events, some long-time store owners aren’t happy. Cheryl Kappes, the owner of Country Maiden, home of Gracie’s Marketplace, said that city leaders are trying to push her and other long-time business owners out. Engels disagrees. “I think that’s contrary to what the city wants. They don’t want people to leave. They want businesses to stay open,” she said, adding that the city wants to spread out its events over the entire year rather than putting a large chunk of its budget into signature events in the holiday season. “It’s true that the large events have brought people, but having more activity throughout the year is another way to bring in people,” she said.

Engels chalks up the resistance from some long-time store owners as due to a fear of the unknown. “When you’ve got people who are steeped in history, who have been here for a long time, they have a passion for what they do and what they’ve experienced, and I think it’s hard for them to want to give that up,” she said. But Engels said that often people with negative comments get heard louder, and that a lot of people are excited about change. Nino McCurley, owner of Nomadic Ice Cream Rolls and the Lemoncade arcade, said that he sees Glendale as an area that’s going to be similar to downtown Portland, Oregon, bringing something new and fresh to the table. “Glendale’s not going to be seen as a historic district anymore. It’s going to be seen as an entertainment district,” he said. “We see new and unique things coming. We just want to be at the forefront.” Continue Reading