Downtown Brookings is constantly evolving, and this summer is a prime example.  

The Brookings Area Chamber of Commerce named Ashley Biggar as the Downtown Director this past April. As director, Biggar works on event planning, networking,  public relations, educating businesses  and building community downtown. 

Biggar says in order to highlight downtown, she wants to improve walkability and accessibility to all 270 businesses. 

“Next year I’m looking forward to making some strategic changes … I want to let people know that it’s fun downtown,” Biggar said. “It’s really thriving.”

But many changes to Downtown Brookings are currently in the works: 

Brookings Built Green

A development company working to make buildings more efficient and affordable, Brookings Built Green, is changing the Kind Properties on Main Avenue into an “urban market commercial kitchen” and will rename it the Ben Franklin Market. 

This project is focused on benefiting the community and its businesses. People can rent a vendor space to sell their food as they grow, test their business for little-to-no risk, cook food in the kitchen or rent out the space to host Thanksgiving dinners. 

Anyone with a dish is welcome to try it out. 

“Anything to do with food, anything to do with entrepreneurship … that’s what this is for,” Brookings Built Green director Dusten Hendrickson said. “Everything we do, we just try to improve.” 

Construction for the community space began in May and is projected to be done in December. 

Above the space will be loft apartments with balconies that overlook Main Avenue. The Lofts have an expected completion date of May 2020. Brookings Built Green started communicating with vendors a year ago and hopes the farmers market will occupy the space during winter months.

You can follow their progress at @brookingsbuiltgreen on Instagram.

The Ram & O’Hare’s

The building that housed The Ram & O’Hare’s, a restaurant and pub in downtown Brookings, recently had a change in ownership. While rumors went around about the direction the business would take, The Ram has announced that while O’Hare’s will remain the same, development plans for The Ram are still being discussed.

Members of the community can expect a reopening of O’Hare’s in the near future, according to a Facebook post on Aug. 1.

Hitch

 Hitch Paperie closed its doors for the last time Aug. 31. The store started as a wedding invitation design business and eventually grew into three separate businesses.

The Carrot Seed

Business partners Carrie Kuhl and Renee Bauman sold the retail store to focus on their own business ventures. Kirsten Gjesdal, owner of The Carrot Seed Kitchen Co., purchased the space and will be rebranding it as Honeycomb Gifts.

Additionally, Honeycomb Gifts will include the business Hand Tied Floral, by Sheri Vaughn, for all your gift needs. The new store is projected to open Oct. 23.

Old Market Eatery

 Recently, the building of the Old Market Eatery made some remodeling changes to the exterior of its businesses. Old Market Eatery renovated their kitchen and improved their menu. Currently, the Galleria is comprised of Old Market Eatery, J. Ella Boutique, Jael Photography and Champion Health Chiropractic.