Friday is opening day for the Batavia Boardwalk Shops, which organizers said will feature an “eclectic mix” this season including a Gindo’s hot sauce shop, a place selling dirty sodas, an independent bookstore and more.
Run by the Batavia MainStreet group, Batavia Boardwalk Shops is a business incubator program which gives entrepreneurs the chance to sell their products at small shops at Wilson and River streets in downtown Batavia.
The Boardwalk Shops will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 20.
This is the seventh year of the program. Beth Walker, executive director of Batavia MainStreet, said there have been 55 businesses “that have gone through the program” thus far.
Of that number, she said, “over half have gone into brick-and-mortar (locations). … Obviously, this program has been effective in terms of building local businesses.”
A total of 28 applications were received this year for spots at the Boardwalk Shops, out of which 10 were chosen.
Walker described this year’s merchants “as a real eclectic mix.”
“We have a jewelry maker again this year as well as stationery which we’ve had in the past but we have a tufted rug person which I think is really cool. She makes her own rugs,” Walker said.
The popular Gindo’s Spice of Life will have a spot at the Boardwalk Shops, along with The Soda Surf – a “dirty soda” shop that Walker said will make customized drinks.
“These are really popular on the West Coast. It’s like serving a specialty soda where you could go in and say ‘I want a cherry soda with lemon or vanilla’ and you’ll get a specialized soda over crunchy ice,” she said.
“We have a bakery – those have done really well – and a vendor who is selling a lot of specialty food items,” she said.
There is also an independent bookstore set for the Boardwalk Shops, something which Walker said the site has “never had.”
Walker said there are a number of reason for the success of the Boardwalk Shops.
“People come because they are looking for something different. Walking into the unknown and seeing something new and exciting,” she said. “People really like the idea of shopping local and supporting and knowing the owners of the shops. That’s something you get when you go to the Boardwalk Shops – having an opportunity to meet the owners and understand why they do what they do.”
A list of all stores at the Boardwalk Shops can be found on the Batavia MainStreet Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/bataviaboardwalkshops/
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
