Downtown Divas unite
Published 9:48 am Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Debbie Daughtrey, left, Debbie Crowder, Sandra Brinkley, Beverly Meyers and Naomi Koontz are members of The Downtown Divas. Not pictured are Liz Britt and Gerry Patnesky. The group aims to promote all downtown businesses in Franklin and offer people the best shopping experience. — CARLIE CLARK/TIDEWATER NEWS
BY CARLIE CLARK/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
clc26208@email.vccs.edu
FRANKLIN—Some of Franklin’s small business owners have come together to form The Downtown Divas. They are Gerry Patnesky of Alphabet Soup; Sandra Brinkley of Designs by Sandra; Debbie Daughtery of New Life Resale; Liz Britt of Simply Divine; Beverly Myers of City Paint; Debbie Crowder of The Cat’s Meow; Naomi Koontz of Aesthetics by Naomi.
Their purpose is to promote all the businesses involved, and draw more people to shop in downtown Franklin. The new group is also open to all businesses in downtown Franklin, and not just limited to businesswomen. Officially formed April 5, the members had been talking about uniting for some time.
“We get more customers from out of town than we do from Franklin,” Crowder said. “They don’t realize what’s out here.”
The Downtown Divas want to provide better customer service and wish for their customers to have the best shopping experience, she continued.
All the members are seeking input from shoppers about what they need. The Divas have even formed a Facebook group to promote sales and draw more people to downtown.
“We’re willing to compromise and we’re just waiting for someone to tell us what to change,” Brinkley said.
Last Friday, the group put on a fashion show at Britt’s restaurant, and plans to have more community outreach projects soon, though no specific plans have been made.
