The Hidden Champions of West Main Street

A conversation with a downtown shop owner reveals the true cost of a nine month street closing

The decisions that we see played out in our city halls and county courthouses across the country are not mere academic exercises; these actions have real-world effects. These decisions impact the livelihoods of our friends and neighbors and all too often these are the stories that aren’t highlighted.

I recently had an opportunity to have a conversation with Courtney Hart, the propietor of Ivy Court. I first met Courtney after a city council meeting where she eloquently spoke about how the shutting of West Main Street was having a negative impact on her young business. After ten months, it made sense to reach out to Courtney and see how things were going. She graciously gave me time to share her story with our readers.

Like most small business owners, Ivy Court, was a long-term dream for Courtney and her husband Ryan. Courtney suffered a job loss during the pandemic and the family was at a crossroads, what were they going to do next. The family took a chance on Troy and started their speciality plant and home decoration store in the recently rehabilitated Masonic Building that was downtown.

“We patroned Troy for fifteen plus years and loved the downtown, the community, the people—you do not find many downtowns like Troy,” Courtney shared, her words painting a picture of deep-rooted affection for the town that they chose to call their business home. Their initial success, with monthly revenues soaring past $60,000, seemed to affirm their decision.

However, the landscape shifted dramatically when construction began on West Main Street. The project, vital for the town’s infrastructure, inadvertently placed Ivy Court in jeopardy. “We knew about West Main Street construction, but we didn’t know it would stall so long in front of our building,” Courtney revealed, highlighting the unforeseen extension of the project and its dire implications for their business. Issues about the building’s basement encroaching underneath the front sidewalk added months to the lengthy road reconstruction project.

Then things really changed on June 24, 2023. Given no warning that Saturday afternoon, city police came in and told everyone to move their vehciles off Main Street. There was no immediate reason given and for a short period of time, there was a real strain of panic. “We had a hunch it was about the (IOOF/Old Miami County Courthouse) building, but there weren’t many details,” relayed Courtney. It wasn’t until June 26th when it was made clear on social media that an inspection of the IOOF/Old Miami County Courthouse building by city and county bureaucrats determined that the building was a collapse hazard.

Keeping the family business up and running became an even more difficult challenge. “That weekend, we were celebrating not only our anniversary, but the opening of West Main Street. Phase I of the reconstruction project really impacted our business, but we felt we could turn this corner. But after shuttering the road on June 24th, our hopes just seem completed dashed,” Courtney confided.

Keeping the doors open to Ivy Court became a contentious issue for the Hart family. Each day the store was open, the store was losing money. Beyond the financial strain, the situation took a personal toll on Courtney’s health and the family’s well-being. “We had to drop our healthcare at the turn of the year so I had to stop taking the chemo pills,” the breast cancer survivor disclosed, a stark illustration of the sacrifices made in the face of adversity. This admission lays bare the harsh realities that entrepreneurs can face, where personal health becomes a secondary concern to business survival.

Personally, this episode has opened her eyes on how this community really works. “We are in the line of fire and we feel like a pawn in the middle of a game. People in this town are really afraid of the people in City Hall and that is terribly sad. This is just craziness,” Courtney said.

When it comes to the building Courtney said, “I’d like to see it stay. The guys who are doing the masonry work have talked with us several times and they truly believe the building is salvagable.” Is she hopeful that the building will stay? “Someone in the city building has a motive to demolish the building and I don’t think that West Main Street will open unitl that happens.”

Despite the outlook, Courtney speaks to the spirit of resilience and community shown by residents and stakeholders alike. Local businesses banded together, creating events to draw customers and support each other. Yet, the hoped-for rallying of the community fell short of expectations. “Some have rallied around us, but not as many as I hoped,” Courtney admitted, reflecting on the mixed support from the town.

Looking towards the future, Courtney remains hopeful yet pragmatic about Ivy Court’s place in Troy. The journey has been fraught with challenges, but her love for the community and the desire to contribute positively to the town’s fabric remain undiminished.

Courtney’s story not only provides first-person insights to understand how these government decisions can create uncertainty for stakeholders, this story underscores the importance of supporting local businesses through transparent communication, community engagement, and empathy. What is happening to Ivy Court is ultimately a call to recognize the intertwined fates of small businesses and the communities they serve, emphasizing that every effort to support one another strengthens the collective spirit of a town.

Above all else, Courtney, and all the other downtown shop owners, embody what it means to be a true Champion for downtown. The decisions that Courtney and her family have had to endure have been unbelievably challenging and honestly, could not have been legitimately planned for — has a street in our town ever been fully closed for over nine months? Yet, through all the challenges and the pain and the tears, the Circleville native still believes in Troy.

“You do not see small towns like Troy, it is truly a gem. And it takes a lot of collaboration and working together to create such a vibrant and unique town,” Courtney said as we ended our conversation.

Let’s all hope that we can recapture that spirit of collaboration and working together again.

Ivy Court is located at 103 West Main Street in Troy and is open Monday through Friday from 11 am to 6 pm, Saturday 10 am to 5pm and Sunday from 12pm to 5pm. You can learn more about the store at www.shopivycourt.com.

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EDIT: This post was updated to reflect the correct store hours.