Bay Street merchants have a ‘persistent’ booster at group’s helm
Published 7:00 pm Thursday, August 27, 2015
Bobbie Stewart, president of the Port Orchard Bay Street Association, is a woman of little fanfare who flies under the radar.
But despite her understated demeanor, Stewart — who owns the Olde Central Antique Mall — is passionate about her adopted city of Port Orchard. And as a downtown business owner, she’s invested in the future of the small businesses that line Bay Street.
POBSA represents Bay Street merchants, building owners and those with an interest in the economic advancement of the city.
Stewart said POBSA works alongside the Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce to advocate for businesses in the area, but the scope of the work each organization takes on is different.
“The chamber is wonderful and they have so much to offer, but their outreach is much broader than ours,” Stewart said. “I always advise business people to join both of our organizations.”
Stewart leads POBSA in her typical low-key way. But as she hinted, she can be persistent.
She said her goal is to have a blue POBSA sticker in every Bay Street store window.
“We don’t have an office. My office is my clipboard,” she said with a chuckle. “When people see me walk in with it, they say, ‘What do you want now, Bobbie?
’”The organization has been on the receiving end of that persistence. It’s grown from less than 35 members to at least 75 members today.
POBSA, she said, exists to market member businesses, engage with community stakeholders and leadership, and coordinate with community and regional activities.
It’s all important stuff for merchants who must fight their daily battles to stay in business, along with competing for weekend visitors with other Kitsap communities.
“We’re trying to make Bay Street a destination,” Stewart said, admitting Port Orchard lags somewhat as a weekend draw compared to Bainbridge Island and Kingston. “
My goal is to put Port Orchard on the map a little more.”
The city’s visibility is slowly rising, she said. Its cluster of antique shops are an increasing draw and the area’s summertime festivals bring in thousands.
Earlier this summer, POBSA sponsored a tour and lunch for a small group of Bremerton hotel concierges. “We toured the town along with the mayor, took them to lunch and even stopped by the (Steel Horsin’ Around) old-time photo studio on Bay Street.
“They had a great time dressing up and getting their photos taken. They were really into it,” Stewart said of the cross-inlet concierges.With every little success POBSA achieves, they deal with constant issues and concerns.
“Probably our biggest worry is the empty buildings along Bay Street,” she said. The “elephant in the room” for the organization is the boarded-up building that once housed the popular Myhre’s Restaurant, which was destroyed by a three-alarm fire July 1, 2011. It remains without a tenant, although Stewart believes there are continuing efforts to find a tenant.
Signage along Bay Street continues to be a concern, she said. “We would like to have better signage and responsive city regulations, especially for new businesses that come to town. It takes weeks to get a permit.”
More voices shared at City Council meetings would help, she said. “I tell business owners to work for the good of the town, but also just worry about your own business,” Stewart said.
“It’s easy to complain. But to change things, you have to put action behind your words. And that means showing up at the council meetings.”
Stewart said a recent issue with the City Council illustrates how government regulations can bog down efforts to improve the business district.“We presented the City Council with a request to have our flower baskets (hanging along Bay Street sidewalks) fertilized on a regular basis. The decision whether or not to set up a schedule took forever. It took too much work to get it dealt with. That’s one of the things the downtown worries about.”
Despite the bumps in the road for POBSA, Stewart has high ambitions: “I have many visions,” she laughed. “I have them every day — too many. That’s the problem.”
The organization is gearing up for the city’s 125th anniversary celebration and is an active participant in planning the Sept. 5 all-day events. It also is a sponsor of the Taste of Port Orchard, which will take place the following day from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the Waterfront.But Stewart’s true passion is the Sidney Art Gallery, of which she’s on the board of directors.
From that association, the city’s Art Walk is growing from its modest beginnings. It runs on the third Saturday of each month from 2-5 p.m. Another passion is Ladies Night Out, in which women receive little black, pink and zebra bags filled with items given out by Bay Street merchants. “At the first Ladies Night Out, we handed out 200 to 300 bags,” she said. “This year, we’ve ordered 1,000 bags.” The event is on Oct. 2.
POBSA’s future is bright, Stewart said. The most-recent 7:30 a.m. meeting on Aug. 20 was an overflow event. She said 68 members showed up for the morning session to hear South Kitsap Fire and Rescue Chief Steven Wright speak. The attendance has grown from an average of 30 attendees, Stewart said.
“The great thing now for the merchants on Bay Street is that we’re a team now,” Stewart said. “That hasn’t always been the case. Many of the old divisions are gone.”
For more information about the Port Orchard Bay Street Association, go to www.pobsa.com.
