Mayfair is open for business.
The Mayfair Business Improvement District continues to grow with the recent addition of marketing professionals Randi Sherwood and Stu Goldberg.
Mayfair BID executive director Marc Collazzo is working with Sherwood, a Somerton native, and Goldberg, a Bustleton native, to spread the word to locals and people outside the Northeast.
“Everything you need, come Make it Mayfair,” Collazzo said, referencing the BID slogan.
Collazzo, Sherwood and Goldberg planned to outline their efforts this past Tuesday night at a stakeholders meeting. The BID is funded by assessments on property owners, mostly along Frankford Avenue from Harbison Avenue to Sheffield Avenue, along with the 3500 block of Ryan Ave. and portions of Cottman Avenue and Sackett Street. One good sign is that there aren’t a ton of vacant storefronts.
The folks behind the Mayfair BID want it to become as successful as ones in Old City and on East Passyunk Avenue.
“The potential is there. The infrastructure is here. Mayfair’s open for business,” Collazzo said.
To help in that effort, they’ve created mayfairphilly.com, an interactive website that will feature a calendar, directory, newsletter, Business of the Month and specials and goes along with existing Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages.
“It’s an exciting time, and we think it will pay off,” Collazzo said.
The planters are in place, and the Ready, Willing & Able crew in their blue jumpers will continue to clean Frankford Avenue three days a week. They were the ones who cleaned up early Monday morning after the Super Bowl victory gathering the night before.
“That triangle was clean by the time I came to work that morning,” Collazzo said.
Soon, there will be new banners, regular events and ads at 15 bus shelters.
The ads will show people having fun and welcome people to visit 300-plus shops, restaurants and businesses. They’ll read, “Looking for something different different? Make it Mayfair! Shop. Dine. Stroll the Avenue.”
The overall goal is to make Mayfair a destination. Collazzo likens the BID to a Mayfair Chamber of Commerce.
One of the BID’s upcoming events is an arts festival on April 14.
On April 26, there will be an NFL Draft party at Frankford and Cottman avenues. Organizers hope it will be at least as successful as the pre-Super Bowl pep rally. A big screen will be set up to hear NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announce, “With the 32nd pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles select …”
On a regular basis, the BID will promote neighborhood businesses. There are successful new businesses such as Factory Donuts and Art History 101, staples such as Giggles Gifts, Capriotti’s Produce, Dress Up Time, Domenico’s Formal Wear, Schummer Sunoco, Gino’s Cafe and more than 300 other retail and professional shops. Some, such as the Mayfair Diner, Stein Florist and Chickie’s & Pete’s, have iconic signs.
“We believe in it. All of these things are here,” Sherwood said.
“Many of them have been here a long, long time,” Collazzo said.
As the weather warms, some businesses will stay open later and exterior lighting will be added. The BID is looking at ideas such as Frequent Shopper Points, a Martini March from bar to bar, gateways and angled parking and is working with the city Department of Commerce to obtain demographics data and Philadelphia Mural Arts to make the avenue more colorful.
Collazzo envisions a cozy, quaint Main Street, perhaps even with a Grandfather clock.
“I think that’s what Mayfair wants,” Collazzo said. ••
