It didn’t take long Wednesday morning to see that Ogden’s Downtown Alliance is taking root and local businesses like what they see. The Alliance held a town hall meeting at the new Family Business Center Ogden and welcomed seasoned businesses, new businesses and those that fall somewhere in between. A production session was held to discuss the importance of people in the business process.

The Alliance, with Kim Bowsher at its helm, is making strides to “increase economic vitality and community vibrancy throughout Ogden’s Central Business District,” according to its mission statement. The Alliance came together in 2015 when a group of business owners wanted to form a central business alliance of sorts, but it also wanted to incorporate some of Ogden’s great events into the fold. “We support local commerce through place making, destination marketing, focused community programming and events.  We create and promote a dynamic epicenter for arts, entertainment and cultural experiences in Ogden’s downtown,” reads the remainder of their mission statement.


Bowsher said the work of the Ogden Downtown Alliance is divided into six pillars of mission focus: Events Programming, Place Making / Destination Development, Business Support / Resource Coordination, Communication and Marketing, Arts Programming, and lastly, Development with CED (Ogden City Community and Economic Development).

The events are a primary funding source of the Alliance’s mission focus and they are in the thick of sponsoring the Ogden Farmer’s Market right now. The market runs each Saturday on Historic 25th Street through September 16. Hours of the market are from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. “We have had over 10,000 on Historic 25th Street in the last two Saturdays,” Bowsher said with great enthusiasm. “That is really something and we are just now hitting the height of produce season in the next few weeks,” Bowsher said.

Plans are also in the works for a large celebration of the Junction’s 10-year anniversary in conjunction with the August 7 Lunar Eclipse. Music on the Plaza runs in the Junction on Friday nights in August. The Harvest Moon Celebration is under the Alliance’s umbrella of events which will be September 23. And once the Farmer’s Market closes up shop, the Fall Market picks up on Saturdays until October 28. The Alliance also will be sponsoring pop-art art projects on a quarterly basis, the next being August 7.

But in addition to events, the Alliance serves as a “one-stop shop” for businesses. “We don’t want you to be here for two years and then discover all the resources that are available,” Bowsher told the town meeting group. She provided a detailed list of resources for the businesses at the meeting and divided the business owners into groups based on how long they had been in business. “Our world is constantly changing and you can look around the room and see that these resources are relevant,” Bowsher said. “Whether you are a start-up or going into your next venture, these resources are here for you,” she noted.

John Peterson, who hosted the meeting at his newly opened Family Business Center offices, on the fourth floor of the office (Recreation Outlet is on the main floor) at 2326 Washington Boulevard, spoke to this as well. Peterson is a CPA, but wanted to help provide smaller businesses with some options for business space. He said he noticed as a CPA when helping small family businesses they had a hard time getting their business off the ground and finding space to run their businesses. “We wanted to provide that space to help people get started,” he said as he motioned around the large and open office space that people can lease out by the day, week, month or year.

Bowsher divided the room up into categories of where people maybe needed the most help for their businesses whether it be marketing, networking, working with the city or financing. She noted that some big frustrations right now come from working with the city with different business issues. “We know that’s a frustration and we are trying to make that transition smoother and let the city know people are having these issues,” Bowsher said.

Bowsher said the future is bright for the Alliance and for local business. “Right now we are working really hard to get our branding and messaging pulled together (our websites and social platforms) so that we can be an effective landing place for information to businesses (ogdendowntownalliance.com) and to community members (ogdendowntown.com) and to fulfill our mission in regards to being a community voice. We're definitely not there yet,” she said. But in saying that, she is very proud of the work that has been done and the layers of information they have been working on to aid business and provide terrific events for the community.