Broadway businesses outlast futuristic, surrounding redevelopment

SALT LAKE CITY — While an unprecedented wave of development is transfiguring downtown's skyline with futuristic towers of steel and glass, a small but vibrant collection of Broadway businesses is reworking the character of a neighborhood in a more subtle but equally profound way.

The roughly three dozen businesses on Broadway (300 South) between 100 East and 300 East represent a panoply of retail choices — vinyl records to Persian rugs and retro furniture to a finely arranged bouquet of roses — but what really sets the district apart is the character behind the eclecticism.

Tracy Kidd moved his House of Chuckles, a store he describes as the state's only retail magic specialty shop, to 300 East and Broadway from West Valley City about nine months ago. What happened when Kidd got to the neighborhood told him everything he needed to know about his new location.

"I probably had at least eight store owners in the area come in and welcome me," Kidd said. "I've been in business since '82 and have moved several times, but nothing like that ever happened before."

Kidd says his unusual product selection — mostly magic paraphernalia, but also costumes and joke gear — fits perfectly with the diversity of the area, and the camaraderie makes him feel very much at home.

That sense of community and connectedness is a sentiment repeated by many of the Broadway entrepreneurs.

Three-and-a-half years ago, Gentry Blackburn was looking for a space where she could show her artwork. Her hopes were modest; just a little space in a coffee shop.

That idea, however, unfurled into the retro-pop retail extravaganza Frosty Darling that features Blackburn's art and handmade gifts, curious candies, gifts, furniture and jewelry. While her website describes the store as a "western-pop microcosm that seamlessly fuses old-time, state-fair wholesomeness with a strange Warhol art aesthetic," Blackburn has a simpler business rationale.

"I sell stuff I like," she said.

Blackburn also likes being a part of a business community where the priorities are more humane than just growing the "bottom line."

"Everyone looks out for everyone else," Blackburn said. "We all know each other, and we care about what's happening ... not just in our stores, but the whole street."

Her brand of retail business and that of her neighbors is about unique products offered in a setting that reflects the personality of the proprietor, Blackburn said.