How Zelie’s Main Street commerce unlocked a new level
Zelienople’s Main Street has come a long way in recent years.
Ten years ago, the town’s retail options and restaurants fell short of potential in the historic borough, said Joel Grobe, president of Zelienople Area Business Association, a nonprofit trade association. Grobe also runs a real estate business and is involved in the Zelienople Historical Society.
Revitalization efforts and a push for economic growth from the borough council and community groups has transformed Zelienople’s downtown, Grobe said.
At the forefront on the way toward change is ZABA. Throughout the year, the organization helms initiatives to promote commerce in the borough — and in the surrounding area — and also improve connectivity among small businesses in the southwest Butler County area.
“We work hard to try to get the businesses to work together,” said Erika Shumaker, co-owner of ShuBrew and vice president of ZABA. “We want to keep our business districts thriving, and you just have to stay ahead of the game.”
The scope of ZABA’s work has broadened with growth in Zelienople, Shumaker said.
The group’s efforts to promote the local economy range from sharing social media content to organizing business-oriented community events like the town’s Open Air Market or Fall Festival.
ZABA also works to maintain a positive working relationship with borough council; some of the council members are business owners in town themselves, Shumaker noted.
“I think that really helps, having somebody on the borough council that is also very active within the membership, so they can voice concerns from a small business point of view,” she said.
“When we first got involved in the organization, there wasn't a lot of communication between the organization and the borough, and we spent quite a few years fostering that relationship,” Grobe said. He said that building the line of communication has been crucial toward achieving the association’s long term goals.
ZABA is a league of 75 to 80 member businesses, including businesses from within a five mile radius of Zelienople’s Main Street. Active membership costs $100 annually, which grants access to the organization’s monthly meetings, educational workshops and networking events. Members can also add events to the calendar page on ZABA’s website.
Another initiative the group is working on is creating a digital walking map which highlights all the stores and businesses on Main Street and the surrounding area.
“We're going to tie that in with the historical aspect of the buildings too,” Grobe said.
The association increased membership dues not long ago, which Shumaker attributed to continued growth.
The nonprofit, operated entirely by volunteer business owners, has evolved to the point where there is less “hand holding,” Shumaker said.
“Some of the businesses that weren't maybe as savvy with social media, technology and AI — people are just taking things into their own hands and growing with it,” she said.
Though Zelienople has experienced dependable growth recently, the ship was not always smooth sailing, Grobe said.
The hospitality and food service industry that has lately shined in Zelienople grappled with difficulties some time ago.
Folks would visit for a show at The Strand Theater, Grobe said, and go back home because there was nothing to do in town before or after. To make matters worse, early in the 2010s, Zelienople lost The Kaufman House restaurant to a kitchen fire, and the restaurant did not reopen until 2020.
“A big part of revitalizing Main Street was restaurants,” Grobe said. He said ShuBrew, which opened in 2013 as the borough’s first ever craft brewery, was key toward that revival. “And then things just snowballed from there.” More retail, restaurants and breweries followed, he said. “It has continued to grow.”
The makeup of Zelienople’s business sector has since been dominated by alcohol and food outlets, Shumaker said. There is even a brewery trail in the works, called the Zelie Pour Tour, that will cover three breweries, two wineries and one distillery in the town.
But it does not stop there. Beyond the beverages, the market has further diversified to include boutique shops, clothing stores, bookstores and even a glass making shop, fitness facilities and tattoo parlors.
“We're a really good mix of arts and food destination, where you could really make a whole day of it,” Shumaker said. “At the end of the day, we all want the foot traffic.”
“This place is thriving, and it's thriving because of ZABA,” said Joe Talarico, one of the owners of Papa Joe’s Wine Cellar. “The business group and the town council have been very good about promoting the place as a destination.”
ZABA has completed much of the groundwork to establish a network, and businesses are better equipped now to handle growth. Looking ahead, Grobe said it is partly the organizations responsible to meet new challenges that come with said growth.
Shumaker said new challenges are due to expedited growth, causing locals to have to deal with outdated infrastructure and availability of space.
“Everyone needs to learn to adapt to some of these new things,” she said. “People are probably gonna grumble about some stuff, but then we find ways.”
“There have been pros and cons in growing. The housing values in the past 10 years have grown exponentially because of the desire for people to want to be here now,” Grobe said.
“Trying to find a balance between growing and keeping the history and making sure the residents who’ve been here a long time are still happy — that’s the continuous challenge,” he said.
