More businesses in an area usually means more competition, but for some existing Downtown Altoona business owners, they’re saying the more, the merrier.
“More businesses come down here, more people are gonna come here so it’s good for everybody,” said Bill Sell, owner of Bill Sell’s Bold.
A new business is moving in next door to Sell’s restaurant. He said he’s excited about it.
“I can already see from the time we got here up until now with Penn State being here and like you said all the other businesses, it’s totally different atmosphere down here,” Sell said.
Railroad City Brewing Company will open its doors in May. They’re moving downtown from their Valley View location, and they’re waiting on permit approval.
“It’ll just be another nice amenity to compliment a lot of the exciting things that are going on in downtown right now,” said Greater Altoona Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Pat Miller.
The face of the business owner is changing and affordability it drawing them to Downtown Altoona.
“I see a whole new generation of younger entrepreneurs looking at downtown as an opportunity instead of an issue,” Miller said.
“Everybody that’s coming down here seems to be, you know, under the age of 50, which is a good thing,” Sell said. “I mean not that older business owners aren’t good, but they’re gonna bring their friends, which are gonna be that age and kinda just grow everything up. Then hopefully all of our kids will take over when we’re done and we’ll keep it going.”
Sell isn’t worried about competition. His restaurant already has a few events planned with the brewery.
“We have the barbecue thing that’s going on down there with Dickey’s, we have a sports bar that’s up there,” Sell said. “We do a little more of the fine dining thing and stuff like that. Then we have the brewery going over, that’s just gonna top everything else off.”
“I don’t think in the last two decades we’ve seen as much economic activity as we’re seeing right now,” Miller said.
Sell said he hopes downtown starts to come alive. He thinks the Penn State Altoona campus has helped greatly in bringing more and younger people to the area.
