Jackson businesses try to 'lessen impact' of Homecomers

The annual Homecomers celebration will draw thousands of people to the streets of uptown Jackson every night from Tuesday through Saturday this week.

But during daytime hours, when uptown businesses will be open, Homecomers — and the 100 block of South High Street — will be closed. Instead of traffic and customers, the street will be filled with carnival rides and vendor tents, creating an inconvenience — and a drop in sales — for businesses in the uptown Jackson area.

Merchants in the area tried to find a way to either keep streets in front of their businesses open or encourage Homecomers organizers and the carnival operator to add daytime hours when their stores will be open. They had several meetings with city officials and Homecomers organizers trying to find a compromise to satisfy everyone but were unsuccessful.

However, the merchants say they’ll do what they can to make the best of the situation.

One of them is Janey Foust, owner of Cobblestone Corner, 130 High St., who said several businesses in uptown Jackson are banding together to offer special sales incentives this week in an effort to persuade customers to patronize their stores despite the inconvenience of street closures.

“We’re calling it the ‘Our Streets Are Closed But Our Sidewalks Are Open Uptown Sale,” Foust said.

Although customers will not be able to drive or park on High Street, Foust said she and other business owners are getting the word out there is “plenty of parking behind our shops.”

In addition to Cobblestone Corner, Foust said other merchants participating in the Homecomers week promotion include Barrel 131, High Street Station, Siemer Appliances & Service, Stitched & Stamped, Summers Lane Boutique and the Teal Coyote Barntique, all on High Street.

“Each of the stores are posting information about their Homecomers promotions on their Facebook and Instagram pages as well as the Uptown Jackson Shopping Facebook page,” she said.

Asked whether she thinks the sales incentives will make up for losses the merchants anticipate during Homecomers, Foust said “No, but it should help lessen the impact for sure.”

Street closures

Jackson city officials announced Friday the 200 and 300 blocks of South High Street between Adams and Madison streets and the south half of Court Street in front of city hall will close to traffic at 1 p.m. Sunday. Main Street and the 100 block of South High Street will remain open until 5 p.m. Monday. At that time, all of South High Street between Main and Madison streets will be closed to traffic as well as Main Street between Barton and Missouri streets, the south half of Court Street and the south half of Barton Street. The streets will remain closed for the rest of the week.

In addition, both Adams and Jefferson streets at their intersections with South High Street will be open to local traffic between 11 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. the following day throughout the week to help traffic flow through the uptown area during non-Homecomers hours.

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