PUTTING YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD. DECI invited the community to a public event on Feb. 10, presented in collaboration with WEDC, to discuss what a Main Street program could offer downtown E.C. in terms of technical support. The Q&A portion of the event saw local stakeholders – like Wonders of Nature owner, Chris Buske, pictured standing – engage, discussing how downtown can move forward.

2025 was “year zero” for Downtown Eau Claire, Inc. (DECI), Erin Klaus, executive director of DECI and owner of Tangled Up In Hue, said during a public event on Tuesday, Feb. 10. 

It was the year DECI made an organizational pivot; formally splitting from the City of Eau Claire, reworking the public-private partnership DECI had maintained for its 20-plus-year history. Now, at the beginning of a new year, the local advocacy org is looking to pin down what its next chapter should focus on – and that includes identifying what the big-picture vision is for downtown.

“The Future of Downtown” event, in collaboration with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. (WEDC), aimed to engage with downtown stakeholders as part of that visioning.

Held at the Menomonie Market Food Co-op in Eau Claire (206 N Barstow St.), the event also brought attendees up-to-date on DECI's year-long application process for WEDC's Main Street program.

"Our culture has shifted a little bit into this really convenience shopping (and) spending lifestyle. Something downtowns thrive on, is not that."

ERIN KLAUS

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF DECI, OWNER OF TANGLED UP IN HUE

The Wisconsin Main Street program – which neighboring Chippewa Falls and Menomonie communities are already members of – is a statewide initiative which supports the revitalization and success of Wisconsin's downtown communities.

Of its many resources, the program's team offers technical support including strategic plan building, grant opportunities, trainings, data collection and distribution, and more.

Errin Welty, the WEDC’s senior director of downtown development, was one of several staffers who spoke at the event. Welty pointed out downtown efforts should not be focused on convincing people to engage with any one community over another, but rather to choose in-person experiences over online convenience.

“No one is trying to decide, ‘should I go to downtown Menomonie or go to downtown Eau Claire tonight?’ ” Welty said. “They’re saying, ‘should I sit on the couch and watch Netflix or should I come out downtown?’ ”

Speaking to the wider economic benefits of a healthy downtown, Welty called downtowns the “front door” to a community.

“Downtowns are an economic engine. No matter how much else you’ve got going on in your community… The only thing that Eau Claire has that no one else has, is a downtown that is exactly like yours,” Welty said.

DECI's 2025 annual report includes the data and graph above, showing foot traffic to the downtown area is back to – and exceeding – its pre-pandemic numbers. Still, anecdotal information alludes to a growing instability among local small businesses anyway.

In DECI’s 2025 annual report, the nonprofit found the downtown area has seen year-over-year growth in yearly visits since 2020. In 2019, downtown saw just shy of seven million visits – a number surpassed in 2024 (7.18 million visits) and again in 2025 (7.91 million visits).

So why does it seem as though more and more local businesses are sounding the alarm for lack of stability?

“Our culture has shifted a little bit into this really convenience shopping (and) spending lifestyle,” Klaus said. “Something downtowns thrive on, is not that.”

“In my personal business, I keep using this little piece of information as a way to kind of look at it: Our transaction numbers haven’t gone down but the ticket price has – significantly – to the point where we’re seeing a huge drop in our overall cash flow,” she continued.

The Q&A portion of the event saw local business owners, residents and stakeholders speak,
including Chamber of Commerce President David Minor, who jumped in to answer questions related to Eau Claire’s projected population growth and retention of local college students.

Eau Claire is one of few Wisconsin communities estimated to see continued population growth over the next 10, 20 and 30 years, as estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau.

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THE NUMBER ONE POPULATION GROUP (VISITING DOWNTOWN EAU CLAIRE) IS YOUNG PEOPLE UNDER 25 (AND) SINGLE

but the second largest is families that are coming downtown for experiences – which is kind of not the case for most downtowns. All of Wisconsin is old; there's only, like, five downtowns where there's a measurable young population."

ERRIN WELTY

SENIOR DIRECTOR OF DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT, WEDC

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. launched its Main Street program in 1987. Today, the WEDC team – three of whom are pictured above, far right – works with over dozens of state communities to revitalize and/or support historic downtown districts. 

Further, according to WEDC data, downtown Eau Claire is also unique in its draw of young people – a significant “plus” for an aging state, Welty said.

“The number one population group (visiting downtown Eau Claire) is young people under 35 (and) single, but the second largest is families that are coming downtown for experiences,” Welty said. “Which is kind of not the case for most downtowns. All of Wisconsin is old; There’s only, like, five downtowns where there’s a measurable young population.”

The Feb. 10 event was just one conversation of what likely will be – or at least should be – myriad outreach engagement and discussion opportunities through DECI and partners on the state of downtown vitality.

Eau Claire has perhaps come face to face with its most significant question, post the COVID-19 pandemic: After years of revitalization efforts, can downtown Eau Claire retain its vibrancy while determining what its next step forward will be?

Learn more about and keep up with Downtown Eau Claire, Inc. (DECI) online at www.downtowneauclaire.org •  More information about the Main Street program can be found online at www.wedc.org