By Jessica Dillon
Business owners and city officials met Jan. 21 at Be Wiched Diner in Martinsville to discuss challenges facing Uptown businesses, including the city’s meals tax and marketing issues.
The meeting was hosted by restaurant owners Kathy and David Kitzmiller. Along with business representatives, several city leaders attended, including Mayor LC Jones, Council member Julian Mei, and Interim City Manager Rob Fincher.
David Kitzmiller raised concerns about the city’s higher meals tax, which he said acts as a barrier for customers. “We’ve paid, since we opened in June, probably around $50,000 for meals tax. But what that tax really is, is basically a tariff on people that want to come out to eat and market them,” he said.
He added that customers in the city pay 7 percent on meals, compared with 6.3 percent in the county. “They have to pay 7 percent more than they would when they step outside of city limits. I know it started out as 4 percent back in 1993. There’s a small business impact. The Chipotles and McDonald’s in the world, they can absorb that.”
Fincher said the city is considering adjustments to avoid driving customers to the county. “We don’t want to create this competition where people would rather go to the county than come to the city,” he said. He noted that meals tax revenue has historically gone toward school capital projects, but state proposals could allow revenue to be used differently, such as a penny sales tax.
“It’s this weird, delicate balance that we have to do in trying to determine which is the best source of being able to be operational, but at the same time, not penalize our businesses,” Fincher said.
Jones agreed that the meals tax merits review. “I quickly just looked up 10 different counties and cities, and we were the highest across the board in that range. The two higher cities I found, Charlottesville and Hampton, were 7 to 7.5 percent. That makes no sense. I can see the impact of it, and I don’t know what the actual revenue generation is from that 7 percent,” he said.
Other topics included visitors struggling to find parking and difficulty accessing Uptown information. Several business owners suggested improved marketing and on-site resources.
“Sometimes they’re waiting an hour or two for artwork to get drawn up. What are they going to do? Well, we’re right here in Uptown, and there’s all this great shopping,” said Lara Blair, owner of Blu Tattoo. “Every client from out of town marvels at how adorable Martinsville is.”
Blair added that local residents often overlook Uptown. “Who knew that Martinsville had this cute little Uptown? Why, it’s like Floyd, like Asheville. We hear this all the time, and yet people here don’t seem to appreciate it. If they do know it’s here, they’re still confused about parking and directions.”
Attendees discussed having someone near the Big Chair in Uptown Martinsville to provide physical guides and mailers for visitors, and explored other marketing strategies to help promote Uptown businesses.
In addition to the hosts, business owners attending the event include BluTattoo Studio, Glitzy Mermaidz, Phoenix Karate, Studio 107, SWVA Acupuncture, LLC, What’s Your Sign?, and Bauble Noelle.
