“I could just see the downtown area was developing, and I felt like it would be the right fit for the kind of store that we wanted to build,” Meadows said.

In November, that store—Indigo Mountain Traders—will celebrate three years in business. The shop sells furniture, handcrafted home décor, clothing, jewelry and boots, and also has a custom hat bar that Meadows designed as a tribute to her father. Since opening, she has watched Murphy add a roundabout, pocket parks and a stage for live music while completing other infrastructure and streetscape work.

“The downtown has really transformed since we opened in 2023,” Meadows said. “It’s really become a real gathering place, not just a place to pass through.”

In 2022, just before the opening of Indigo Mountain Traders, the Town of Murphy became an official North Carolina Main Street community, designated by the NC Department of Commerce Main Street & Rural Planning Center. Murphy’s transformation perfectly illustrates the idea behind the Main Street program: downtown revitalization as economic development. Across Western North Carolina, small, rural communities including Murphy, Sylva and Waynesville are using historic preservation, public investment, events and business support to strengthen their downtown economies. But those efforts depend on private businesses giving people a reason to come downtown—and stay there.

In Sylva, the Main Street program is central to the town’s economic development strategy, according to Economic Development Director Bernadette Peters. Sylva follows Main Street America’s four-point approach to economic development through historic preservation, and its downtown serves residents and tourists with restaurants, breweries, shops, services, outdoor recreation businesses and events.

“Downtown events drive traffic to downtown, but it is up to the merchants to attract them into their shops and make purchases,” Peters said. “We provide the support to help them offer an attractive mix of products and services.”

New businesses receive a welcome packet with resources related to growth, hiring and retaining employees, purchasing buildings and succession planning. The town connects businesses with educational and coaching resources and programs through partners including Western Carolina University and UNC Greensboro. It also helps businesses navigate historic tax credit renovation projects. But the downtown events are crucial—for retailers in smaller historic towns, foot traffic can be make-it or break-it. 

“We are dependent on that traffic to survive,” said Carly Burns, who co-owns downtown Sylva’s Carly & Cass Boutique with her daughter Cass Burns. “Our local customers are so important to us but we rely heavily on tourism too. We would not be able to stay in business if it weren't for the tourism and also the colleges that are here.”

That reliance on both locals and visitors is echoed elsewhere in the region. The Kitchen Shop has operated in downtown Waynesville for more than 33 years, selling kitchen gadgets, small appliances, cookware, table linens and other household goods. Owner Leanne Patterson has owned the business for eight years and said its Main Street location gives it access to the visitors already coming downtown to shop and dine.

“The advantages are we are located where the tourists shop,” Patterson said. “Being on Main Street along with other shops and restaurants is a big draw for people who are visiting the area.”

Tourists provide more than half of The Kitchen Shop’s income, Patterson said. The challenge is convincing residents that downtown businesses are also there for them.

“Some original residents think Main Street is an overpriced tourist trap,” Patterson said. “That is a perception we need changed. We need both visitors and locals to help support our businesses.”

The relationship between one business and the rest of downtown is particularly important in a walkable district. Someone who comes to buy a kitchen tool may stop for lunch or visit a neighboring boutique. Someone attending a festival may discover a business they return to months later.

“We bring customers into the area who are spending money throughout the entire area,” Patterson said. 

Meadows sees that ripple effect every day in Murphy. About 85 percent of Indigo Mountain Traders’ customers are tourists and second homeowners, she said, and visitors regularly ask her and her staff where they should eat, shop and explore next.

“We’re not just a stop on someone’s trip,” Meadows said. “We’re constantly referring customers to other shops…You would think that we’re the visitor center.”

For Meadows, that makes the success of neighboring businesses directly relevant to her own.

“When I think about something and a decision that I make for Indigo Mountain Traders, I try to also consider what’s good for the whole community, what’s good for downtown Murphy,” Meadows said. “We can’t be successful by ourselves. It’s a community effort.”

Meadows serves on the board of the Murphy Business Association, which works with the town on activities including the annual Murphy Spring Festival. Indigo Mountain Traders is also one of four Murphy businesses Meadows said have earned designation as a Certified NC Destination Business, an additional strategy by the Main Street & Rural Planning Center to highlight businesses that are a destination within themselves. 

“Folks want to see independent retailers in these little historic downtowns that have character,” said Meadows. “It’s an experience, and they can’t get that by adding a product to a [digital] cart.”

Burns has reached a similar conclusion in Sylva. Carly & Cass has increasingly emphasized experiential retail through its DIY studio, where customers can paint pottery, make jewelry, create hats and participate in other activities.

“My favorite thing about our DIY Studio is that a customer walks in and makes something but they leave with a memory attached to it,” Burns said. “Big box retailers and Amazon can't give that to customers but a small business can. I think the human experience and social connection are going to become even more important to the future of small downtowns.”

Patterson sees the same advantage in Waynesville. For her, a successful Main Street needs enough variety to encourage someone to spend hours rather than minutes downtown.

“Restaurants, coffee shops, cute boutiques, places they can stroll, relax, and in some cases reminisce, all on one street in a beautiful location is a destination for many,” Patterson said.

That destination does not emerge solely from private investment. Public infrastructure, parking, landscaping, historic buildings, events and marketing all shape whether customers choose to visit—and whether they can easily reach the businesses once they arrive. Patterson said street closures and construction can immediately affect sales and urged policymakers to communicate disruptions early and ensure customers can still reach businesses.

“Anytime access to our location is compromised we suffer,” she said. 

Burns similarly pointed to parking, cleanliness, appearance and marketing as factors that directly affect a retailer’s bottom line.

“Foot traffic matters so much, parking matters, cleanliness matters and so does appearance,” she said.

Margins are thin, but the experiences in these downtowns suggest that physical retail has an advantage difficult to replicate online: a store can become part of a place. Main Street programs can improve buildings, organize events, market downtowns and provide businesses with resources. But ultimately, it is the businesses themselves that fill storefronts, greet visitors and give them reasons to return.

“Without independent retailers it would basically be either a ghost town or feel like a strip mall with all the corporate national chains in it,” said Burns. “We create the personality of a downtown.”