Santa Claus and other visitors look over candles for sale in the Buttercupp Candles pop-up shop during the grand opening celebration of Arts Alley in Rock Island on Wednesday, Nov. 20. Arts Alley features two retail vendor stalls for local businesses. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
“It smells so good in here,” was probably the most repeated phrase as customer after customer walked into the small shed-like retail building in downtown Rock Island last month. Those pleasant smells were coming from the many exotic candles on sale at the Buttercupp Candles pop-up shop during the Nov. 20 grand opening celebration for […]
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“It smells so good in here,” was probably the most repeated phrase as customer after customer walked into the small shed-like retail building in downtown Rock Island last month.Those pleasant smells were coming from the many exotic candles on sale at the Buttercupp Candles pop-up shop during the Nov. 20 grand opening celebration for Arts Alley. Part of that celebration was devoted to doing business as the alley – located at 1919 Second Ave. – features two 20-foot-long vendor buildings available for businesses to use during the holiday season. During the opening celebration, those little buildings had Lagomarcino’s selling candy, and Buttercupp featuring a lot of candles and great smells.KC Cupp, left, visits with a customer inside the Buttercupp Candles store set up in Arts Alley in downtown Rock Island. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON“It was a fantastic night. … People went out of their way to visit us and look over the candles,” said KC Cupp, one of Buttercupp Candles’ owners.It was such a good night that Mr. Cupp said he and his wife, Jennifer, are considering expanding their candle operations to downtown Rock Island. They have been thinking about the move for some time, and the positive reception their candle business got during the grand opening ceremony gave them another little push for expanding Buttercupp Candles.That’s exactly what business advocates for Rock Island want to hear. Jack Cullen, executive director of the Rock Island Downtown Alliance, told the crowd at the grand opening ceremony that he hopes that businesses that set up a pop-up shop in Arts Alley will do good business and be encouraged to open a permanent shop in the downtown area.Other goals of the vendor stalls include enhancing the public space, encouraging private investment and improving overall quality of life in the downtown area. “The vendor stalls specifically will allow the visiting businesses to test out the market downtown and perhaps encourage them to think about opening a shop someday in one of our available storefronts. … We hope the Arts Alley Holiday Market becomes a fun and festive social gathering place for the community during the next month and increase civic pride,” Mr. Cullen added.So far, the retail holiday market is off to a good start, according to several business owners and managers. Beth Lagomarcino, an owner of Moline-based Lagomarcino’s, called the holiday market a good plan that she hopes grows in the future.“I think the idea of a holiday market is a great idea. Jack Cullen and his staff have conceived a good use of this space called Arts Alley. I can see it growing. There needs to be more vendors involved to make it feel like a market,” she said.Ms. Lagomarcino added that the pop-up candy shop did pretty good business during that grand opening, selling bagged, bulk holiday candies and chocolates. However, at this time, she doesn’t see Lagomarcino’s expanding its operations to downtown Rock Island.Mr. Cullen said that even though Lagomarcino’s may not set up a permanent storefront in Rock Island, he’s still very happy with the holiday market.“We couldn’t be more excited about our Arts Alley Holiday Market in downtown Rock Island,” he added. “Along with our established businesses, our new retail vendor stalls are bringing a new vibe to downtown with a great selection of local shops for the holidays.”
ARTS ALLEY HOLIDAY MARKET: AT A GLANCE
Size: Two retail vendor stalls, each 20 feet long and eight feet tall.
Launched: The retail booths initially opened during a grand opening ceremony of Arts Alley on Wednesday, Nov. 20. During that event, Buttercupp Candles and Lagomarcino’s were selling their products in the vendor stalls.
History: The Rock Island City Council awarded the bid for the retail vendor stalls to Crawford Company, Rock Island, in September. They were completed and installed in late November.
Holiday schedule: The Arts Alley Holiday Market vendor stalls are open weekends through Dec. 22. Some of the businesses scheduled to occupy the stall in the coming weekends include: Bamboo Baby Boutique, Lagomarcino’s, Blue Code and Belle Bouvier Boutique.
After the holiday season: One of the stalls will likely remain on site and be used to store various items for ongoing events and programs in Arts Alley and elsewhere downtown.
