Grafitti’s Sports Pub owner Troy Hojnacki, Council President Meleesa Johnson, and Kathy Johnson, co-owner of Sunset Point Winery, hold up the Main Street Award at the winery on April 22. (Metro Wire photo)

Downtown business association wins statewide honor

April 23, 2021

By Brandi Makuski

The Stevens Point Association officially has one of the best success stories in the state following its efforts in rejuvenating the Downtown District.

SPA, the downtown business association, was awarded Connect Communities Award for a community with a population of over 10,000 by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation under its Main Street Wards program. The award was presented virtually on April 22.

Kathy Johnson, co-owner of the Sunset Point Winery and vice president of SPA, said she was notified in February by the WEDC that SPA was named a finalist. When she learned SPA was the winner, she was ecstatic.

“Oh, this is so great. Finally, it’s some good news that has come from all of this,” Johnson said, referencing the COVID-19-related downturn in business for most downtown business owners.

SPA won the award specifically for its Notes at Night program, which hosted family-friendly, live outdoor music on Wednesday nights in Mathias Mitchell Public Square. The program was introduced last summer as a way to safely gather patrons for some downtown entertainment.

Sales at downtown restaurants increased by 75 percent or more during the Notes at Night events, according to the SPA application.

Last summer, SPA also hung $5,000 worth of Edison party lights over the Mathias Mithell Public Square. Grafitti’s Sports Pub owner Troy Hojnacki said the lights created a new kind of “positive outdoor vibe” for patrons.

Hojnacki, president of SPA, also petitioned the Stevens Point City Council last year to allow open intoxicants outdoors in designated areas of the Downtown District. The program has been extended by the Council twice—and could become a permanent fixture for the Downtown, with local law enforcement saying the program hasn’t caused any significant issues.

“It’s very, very awesome that we won,” Hojnacki said on Thursday. “Working with the Council to get the intoxicants program done really shows they do care about our downtown, and we’re glad the WEDC recognized the efforts we put forward.”

Hojnacki said it’s even more important to keep the downtown programs active in 2021.

“We’re starting to come out of the COVID, people are coming out for more social interaction,” he said. “So this year will be even more important than last year.”

Notes at Night begins June 2 and runs through September. A calendar of artists will be available on the SPA Facebook page.

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