By Crystal McGough, Editor
PINSON – The historic Pinson Main Street has been making a blast from the past in the last few years as the inspired and highly motivated small business owners along the street keep coming up with new and inventive ways to get the community excited about Pinson’s historic district.
In a more recent development, Patti of Patti’s on Main Street Flea Market/Consignment Shop announced that she received confirmation from Pinson Councilwoman Glenda Kirkland on June 5, 2023, to rebrand the street as Pinson’s Entertainment and Business District.
“Welcome to the Entertainment and Business District – Pinson Main Street,” Patti wrote on a flyer that has gone out to the community and local social media pages.
The flyer also lists the following merchants of Main Street: Price’s Ice Cream, Barking Bee Coffee, Celina’s Boutique, Down on Main Street Hair and Nails Salon, Pinson Valley Arts Council, Comfort Grooming and Daycare LLC, Todds Computer Repairs, Styles N’ Smiles Family Hair Salon, Love Life Naturals self-care boutique, Tramites El Charro auto insurance and notary, Campbell’s Paving Concrete & Asphalt LLC., Pinson Trade Days, Parking Lot Yard Sales, Patti’s on Main Street Flea Market/Consignment Shop.
“I think this is going to help everybody,” Patti said.
Patti founded Pinson Trade Days in November 2021, a market-style event that offers free booth space for vendors to set up along the street, where people from all over the Southeast can come to shop, eat and enjoy a classic car show.
Pinson Trade Days took place eight out of 12 months in 2022, with the City of Pinson contributing by hiring police officers to shut down the street and paying for portable restrooms for the events. However, at the Dec. 8, 2022, meeting of the Pinson City Council, the council voted to reduce their Trade Days assistance from monthly to quarterly. The council did, however, give Patti and the other Main Street businesses approval to continue holding monthly “Parking Lot Yard Sales” on the months when Trade Days would not be held. The primary difference between the two events is that, on yard sale days, Main Street will not be closed to through traffic and there will be no portable restrooms available for shoppers.
“I want to build up crowds; I want to be as big as Butterbean Festival without the rides,” she said. “If I can build up the Parking Lot Yard Sales, which I have done, and Trade Days is growing also, we’ll see what happens. … Everything takes time.”
Trade Day and Parking Lot Yard Sales aren’t the only thing the newly dubbed Entertainment and Business District has going for it.
In May, the Pinson Valley Arts Council hosted its inaugural “First Friday” live-music block party event on Main Street. The second monthly event took place on June 2, and July’s “First Friday” is already on the books for “Musicians Open Stage Jam Fest” on July 7.
“We just want people to come out and do their own thing,” PVAC founder DieDra Ruff said. “We can have some spoken words, poetry, just any type of talent that they have. … My goal – and it has always been – is to get people to eat and drink right there at Price’s (and Barking Bee Coffee), and get something to wear next door at Celina’s, and go get you some lotions and smell-good stuff there at Love Life (Naturals). I’m just trying to bring attention to Main Street again.”
Special occasions and events aside, patrons of Pinson Main Street can enjoy regular visits to their local businesses anytime. From Barking Bee Coffee, which boasts some of the best specialty coffee around, to taking a trip through time upon entering Price’s Ice Cream, which resembles a traditional ‘50s diner and features its own small museum, Pinson Main Street is like a hidden gem in the community.
For those wanting to shop, whether looking for a gift or just a little self-care, there are shops such as Celina’s Boutique, Love Life Naturals and Patti’s on Main Street, which offer a little something for everyone.
Whatever your reason for going, I think all the business owners on Main Street would agree: Welcome to Pinson’s Entertainment and Business District.