The people of Tyrone want businesses to come into town and set up shop, to hopefully bring jobs and money into our area. Some business owners in Tyrone are beginning to take the first steps towards making that possible, and perhaps a future reality.
There will be a meeting Monday at 6:30 p.m. in an effort to bring all Tyrone merchants together with the thought of starting a Merchants Association, independent of all other groups. Only merchants are allowed to attend the organizational meeting which will be held at C&C Furniture, 8 West 10th Street, in Tyrone.
By having something like a Merchants Association would enable a body of existing business owners in Tyrone to contact anybody who may want to know what kind of organization Tyrone has and what there is offered in Tyrone.
Charles DiMemmo, organizer of the Merchants Association and owner of C and C Furniture, came up with the idea of the associationand encourages business owners in town to attend the meeting Monday.
“I believe a Merchants Association, with all the people we have here and gets together as a unit, we could do some good in this town and attract attention,” said DiMemmo. “What we need to do as a Merchants Association is market this town, because right now my feeling is that it’s not marketed properly.Sure, lots of good work has been done downtown. We have nice sidewalks and lights, but there’s nothing to bring people here to spend money.”
Business revolves around marketing, and when marketed properly a business can thrive anywhere, including Tyrone. DiMemmo elaborated, “What needs to happen is Tyrone needs to be marketed; full page ads in the local papers, ads on the radio station, and get people downtown with sidewalk sales, dollar days and what have you.”
DiMemmo said that a Merchants Association may not end all the problems and fill every store front in town, but it can help. An association like this might give somebody incentive to come into Tyrone.
“It’s a further step than what we have right now,” said DiMemmo. “I know that there is Main Street and everything else; they feel they are trying to do the same thing and they don’t want to hear about a Merchants Association where the merchants have a little control to what happens in their stores.”
DiMemmo knows that a business can be successful in Tyrone because he owns and is committed to one. He doesn’t feel that Tyrone is dead; it just needs marketed right in Tyrone and the communities outside of town.
“I opened a store in Tyrone where I committed, and it worked,” said DiMemmo. “I’m proud that it worked and I hope it continues. If it doesn’t, at least I tried.”
That same kind of effort is what DiMemmo hopes the Merchants Association will try to capture.
“We at least have to make an attempt to bring people to this town, do something that is going to benefit not only the consumer but the merchant as well.”
That is the goal of the organization of the Merchants Association. DiMemmo wants to see beneficial business, maybe attract a Dollar Tree or a TJ Maxx Outlet, anything that might draw the young and old to stay in Tyrone instead of Altoona or State College to shop.
“Another thing that we want to run by is the half hour free parking that used to be in the borough to bring people down into town,” said DiMemmo. “If we get enough people involved with the association we can make a difference, but that remains to be seen.”
DiMemmo stressed that this first organizational meeting for the Merchants Association is only for merchants in Tyrone.
“We don’t want people representing government bodies of any kind yet,” said DiMemmo. “We just want to get together as merchants and see what we can work out.”
A Merchants Association could be the beginning of prosperity in Tyrone, to at least set new standards to attract new businesses.
“I think we need a Merchants Association where we can turn around and say here’s what we have to offer and here’s what the merchants do to try and help,” said DiMemmo. “I can promise one thing, we’ll make every effort we can to do it and if it doesn’t work, at least I tried.”
