Duluth's Lincoln Park neighborhood was until recently a rundown section of this lake front city in Minnesota, with many empty storefronts and buildings.
But now Lincoln Park is the center of a new artisan business boom. Key quote from the head of economic development for the city of Duluth:
A new wave of creative entrepreneurship is taking over Duluth and it’s happening in Lincoln Park. The area is undergoing a healthy revival with niche retail stores, unique restaurants, and longtime anchor businesses that feed the economic pipeline and build a stronger neighborhood. The future for Lincoln Park is full of promise and great potential.”
We recently listened to an interesting "Conversations on the Creative Economy" podcast that featured three entrepreneurs who founded artisan small businesses in Duluth.
The entrepreneurs said they located their businesses in Duluth because it's a great place to live (they must like winter), has a talented workforce and relative to big cities, low costs.
We've pointed out in the past that tech firms are starting to move jobs to the Midwest for these same reasons.
Craft businesses in Duluth include pottery makers, craft brewers, shoe cobblers, outdoor gear manufacturers and others. The also have a growing number of farm to table restaurants.
All across the country small and mid-sized cities like Duluth (population 86,000) are benefiting from the artisan business renaissance.
In addition to revitalizing neighborhoods and creating jobs, artisan businesses make a city a more attractive place to live. This attracts more artisan businesses as well as non-artisan ones (including tech firms).
Expect to see these reinforcing trends continue.
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