22-05-2025
‘It's a poor investment right now': Downtown Wichita Falls business owners seek more investment for growth
WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — If you had to grade Downtown Wichita Falls on an A-F scale, what would you give it?
'In my opinion, I think it's a 'C,'' Wichita Falls Councilor At-Large Austin Cobb said during Tuesday's regular session meeting.
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The comment comes as city staff provide an update and discussion on the 2018 Downtown Master Plan.
It's a plan that hasn't been touched since 2018.
'The 'C' grade is probably correct,' Duchess and Mimi co-owner, Roberta Richardson, said.
'That is very generous of the councilman,' Pinnacle Orthopedics Founder, Amber Schacter, said.
Though both differ on the homework grade, the two business owners agree that downtown needs more work.
Richardson said the past three and a half years in downtown have been a great experience. But she's about beautification. Adding more planters and signage could attract the foot traffic she seeks.
'We need to make it more retail-friendly because we love downtown,' Richardson said. 'It really has beautiful areas, but I think making it a bit more retail-friendly is the key.'
Schacter is on the opposite side of Richardson.
'It's a poor investment as it stands right now to put a business downtown,' Schacter said.
The former Karat Bistro owner is calling for some type of incentives to grow downtown. She said other North Texas downtowns have grown while Wichita Falls has dipped.
'For Wichita Falls not to follow suit, and to blame it on the economy, I don't believe that's true,' Schacter said. 'Truly treat downtown as a place of economic development and put our money where our mouth is, as we're planning for [next year's budgeting].'
Cobb knows that if downtown is going to be successful, investment is needed.
'We need to incentivize some of these businesses to kind of help redo these buildings,' Cobb said. 'The real core of economic development, I think, we've lost a little bit. We've had some restaurants and stuff close, but I want downtown to be a vibrant part of our community.'
Downtown business leaders push for stronger investment to build a stronger downtown.
It's unclear when the council could revisit its master plan and update it. Businesses and Cobb said there's plenty of opportunity to grow downtown.
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