Downtown Clawson has filled in. Nearly 80 businesses now line Main Street and 14 Mile Road — and now the challenge shifts from attracting businesses to keeping customers around once they arrive.
A new report describes downtown Clawson as nearly full and in need of people to stick around, according to Crain's Detroit. The outlet's headline puts it plainly: downtown Clawson is nearly full, and now it needs people to stick around. The Downtown Clawson business directory puts a number on that growth, listing about 80 businesses along Main Street and 14 Mile Road.
A Dining Scene Built Over Nearly a Decade
The retail boom didn't happen overnight. Clawson's Downtown Development Authority has watched the dining scene expand steadily for roughly eight to 10 years, according to its executive director, who spoke to Second Wave Media in a feature on the city's food options. Joan Horton has credited the city's master plan and a streetscape project as key factors behind that growth, the same report notes.
Even when longtime restaurants have closed, their storefronts haven't stayed empty for long, the Second Wave report found — a pattern that suggests steady demand for space in the compact downtown. The DDA's restaurant committee has said additional dining establishments are interested in joining what it calls the growing “Dine Clawson” buzz, per the same account. One concrete example of that momentum: Noble Fish completed an expansion that doubled its previous seating capacity, now accommodating more than 40 diners, the outlet reported.
New Housing Adds to the Mix
Residential development is part of the downtown equation too.
That proposal appears connected to Clawson Flats, a planned apartment building in downtown Clawson that received a state-backed loan, Crain's Detroit reported separately. The project reflects the broader residential push that's accompanied the retail and dining growth downtown.
Gathering Spots Keep Foot Traffic Moving
The Saturday Clawson Market runs every other Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the intersection of 14 Mile and Main Street, according to the City of Clawson. The city also invites vendors to apply.
Clawson Fest offers a bigger-scale version of that same draw. The annual festival takes place on Main Street between 14 Mile Road and Tacoma Street and features approximately 100 vendors each year, according to C&G Newspapers. Organizer Sean Nasrey has said that as the event grows each year, it brings more business to downtown restaurants and stores. Nasrey pointed to Tavern on Main as a case in point, telling the outlet the restaurant reported its Clawson Fest day was its biggest day ever in business.
Taken together, the dining expansion, new housing and recurring events form the backdrop for the question now facing downtown Clawson: with storefronts largely filled, the next test is whether the crowds that show up for the market or the festival turn into the kind of regulars who keep nearly 80 businesses humming the rest of the year.
