This is a great community. It was always meant to be about the community.”

Jen Cavallaro

What is it like running a business in Bristol in 2019? Representatives from the town, region and state were hoping to find out during Connect Greater Newport’s first-ever regional business walk on Tuesday, May 7.

Beginning at 9 a.m., key community leaders and officials — including Town Councilor Aaron Ley, Economic Development Coordinator Chris Vitale, East Bay Chamber of Commerce director Mark DeVine, Newport County Chamber of Commerce Events, Development and Program Director Kate Grotteberg, Growth Hub director Paul Harden, Vice President Senior Business Development Officer for BankNewport George Duarte and state Rep. Susan Donovan — went around to pre-registered businesses seeking insight. Though they were only slated to talk with each for 15 minutes, the conversations often went long over as they discussed what works, what doesn’t and in what ways they need to be heard.

Seeing the good

From downtown staples to hidden neighborhood gems, the profiles of the handful of participating shops were wildly varied. Some have been in business for decades, others for just a couple of years. Caron Jewelers first opened its doors in 1956; Woof! Woof! in 2011. Several store owners, like Richard O’Meara of Core Composites, had previous experience before beginning their latest venture; others, like Linda Arruda and Susan Curtis of Paper, Packaging and Panache, simply jumped right in.

Whether they were seasoned veterans or taking a leap of faith, each store has evolved throughout the years, each in their own unique directions. Gorman Clocks, boasting the state’s biggest Howard Miller showroom, has a year-and-a-half waitlist for some of their services; the Beehive Café expanded to add another location, the Beehive Pantry, four years ago.

“Looking at the downtown over the last 30 years, a lot of life has been brought back and revitalized,” said Mr. Vitale.

Yet the action is not just occurring downtown; recently, Core Composites, a division of ROM Development Corporation over on Tupelo Street, has had a hand in the US Army Medical Material Development Activity-funded “Joint Warfighter Shelter of the Future” project, working toward a modernized way of treating injured soldiers.

While the goods and services they all offer may be different, the variables keeping them motivated are often similar. For Ms. Arruda, running a shop in downtown Bristol is “energizing,” while Ms. Cavallaro finds strength in the people she meets each and every day.

“This is a great community,” she said. “It was always meant to be about the community.”

Addressing the bad

Though there are things to love about doing business in Bristol, each has experienced its fair share of challenges as well.

Some are unique to the industry, such as the changing regulations over food safety for Ms. Cavallaro and an increasingly technology-dependent world for Ms. Arruda and Ms. Curtis.

Other issues, however, were more universal across town: the lack of parking spaces; a central downtown public restroom and visitor center; restrictive zoning and planning regulations, a disconnect with underclassmen at Roger Williams University. Several brought up the future closing of the Silver Creek Bridge.

“All those little things can change your fortunes,” Ms. Cavallaro said.

The representatives completing the tour took notes of each one of their concerns, offering advice and support where they could. Mr. Vitale directed those worried about the bridge reconstruction to the business meeting with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation this upcoming Tuesday, May 21, and invited them to take part in the business promotion package they are planning to gather for extended ferry services starting this summer.

They cautioned, however, that there is no quick fix for every shop in town. From working to build a better connection with university students by means of outreach and sponsored events, to capitalizing on bicycle traffic by potentially extending the bike path, to expanding on their social media and online marketing presence — each facet will take some effort to successfully implement.

“Some things are easy to do, but there are other things that take time,” said Mr. Vitale. “There’s a certain level of patience necessary.”

That being said, though, he encouraged shop owners to continue reaching out to him moving forward with any questions or problems they may have. Whether he can help personally, or point them in the right direction, he emphasized that his door is always open.

“Everyone who was there was wanting to help and wanting to listen.”

Though there are things to love about doing business in Bristol, there have also been plenty of challenges along the way — from the town and state to a changing society as a whole.