Lewisburg’s downtown business owners will help lead Pennsylvania’s economy over the next five years.
The state Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) named Lewisburg a Keystone Main Street on June 7. That designation marks the borough as a center for economic opportunity. Local business owners will get priority for state grants through Apr. 2029.
But for Melanie Ortiz, she seized her opportunity to own a business in the borough three years ago.
She owns Lewisburg Studio, a photography shop she calls the “gem of Lewisburg.” Ortiz bought the place from John Gardner, who opened it over 35 years ago. After Gardner retired from the business, Ortiz feared Lewisburg would lose the personal touch of having a local photographer.
“There’s something about a storefront on Main Street [and someone] walking by, someone coming in and walking into the door [and saying,] ‘Hey, can you help me?’ That’s just something that we needed to keep going and bring it back,” said Ortiz. “For us, it’s all about personality and getting people comfortable and you can’t do that through a computer screen. You just can't.”
She’s relieved she didn’t have to take on the business alone. The community stood behind her from the start.
“Honestly, just having the support of the community…You’re never afraid when you come to Lewisburg. Like, y’know that people have got your back whether, y’know, you’ve been here for three years or for 40 years,” said Ortiz.
Union County Commissioner Stacy Richards said it’s Lewisburg’s welcoming culture that earned it its Keystone designation. The county uses its hotel taxes to promote local tourism by funding the Susquehanna River Valley Visitors Bureau. The tax adds 5 percent to a hotel stay’s listing price.
Richards added that the bureau received an additional $300,000 for tourism from the county’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. ARPA funds can help make up for lost pandemic-era revenue.
But the county is not stopping there with its economic development plans.
Richards announced that Lewisburg’s business partners, the Lewisburg Downtown Partnership, the Susquehanna River Valley Visitors Bureau and the Bucknell University Small Business Development Center will hold a forum this summer for cultural non-profits across the county.
“[It’s] to be able to come together to understand what it takes, how you organize this as a not-for-profit, to be able to have a mission statement, to be able to pursue funding. And what the other [Union County] communities are recognizing is that Lewisburg is willing to share,” said Richards. “We recognize that it takes a community. It is not just Lewisburg that is a tourist destination.”
Lewisburg Downtown Partnership’s (LDP) Executive Director Ellen Ruby is thrilled about the project. She believes neighboring communities have a responsibility to help each other to help the greater community.
“We feel the same way about the developments that are happening in, for example, Mifflinburg and Milton. They’re doing incredible things and it spills over in a positive way to Lewisburg. And so, everything we do hopefully spills over to them,”
LDP is in charge of running Lewisburg’s main street designation. Ruby said the partnership had to submit a strategic plan to DCED detailing their goals for the community. The plan aims to make Lewisburg a leader in the arts, dining, shopping, culture and entertainment, according to Ruby.
Ruby hopes it will help Lewisburg shine as a growing college town. LDP partnered with upper-level business students at Bucknell University to write the strategic plan.
“[They were brought on] to help us with focus groups on Bucknell’s campus and to create public town hall meetings…It gives them hands on [experience] and then we get the benefit of the data they collect,” said Ruby.
Lewisburg Downtown Partnership will publish that plan on their website in the coming days.
There are nine active Keystone Main Street communities in Pennsylvania, including Lewisburg.
