We're taking a little break from all of
our travel planning here in Madison,
and we stopped to grab some
coffee at the red roaster,
real popular spot here on Main Street.
I'm with Austin Sims, the executive director
of the Madison Main Street program.
This is super cute shop, first of all,
and it's what part of a.
Part of a thing that's going on in this area,
kind of a themed thing. Yeah.
Red roaster specifically is one of
four other red restaurants in Madison.
You have an incredible job because
when you hit the approach into Madison,
it is business is open block after
block after block after block.
And these are incredible stores and
restaurants and boutiques and apothecaries.
Like, there's just so much happening
that must make you excited.
In this position that you know,
you have all this to brag about,
yeah, I mean half of the time
I'm like slow down because I'm
trying to keep up with you.
I'm the only full time staff person
with Madison Main Street program.
We have an assistant,
we manage local farmers market.
We have a manager that does that and we
have just a great team of volunteers.
So trying to keep up with the
200 plus businesses downtown is a
lot for me within the district.
So I work a lot with our partners at the
city and visit Madison at the Chamber.
Things to help with my community outreach.
So
like backtracking even just a couple
of years since you've been there,
when do you think that things really
started to take off and change? You
know, we have been talking about
that a lot lately, really.
I think the last five years.
For example, I moved back to Madison
being a Madison native in the last five
years and I was working another job,
wanted to be more involved in the community.
Volunteering turned into you should
consider working with Madison Main Street,
and that really propelled, I think,
what I'm supposed to be doing just as a
young adult, but also in my community.
So. Within the last five years,
I've seen a lot more openness from
the businesses and I think from the
residents just ready to have that and
that drive and that really embracing
the pride that we all have about
Madison being the best small town
in the Midwest in the United States.
It's so much pride and that's
something that we're kind of blown
away by is just how much excitement
and just how proud people are to
talk to you and welcome you here.
We are kind of talking about this
trip in terms of itineraries.
And so this could be one.
I love this like itinerary, so.
Winning the guys and the girls
trips and that is a thing here.
People will plan their entire
weekend around such a thing.
You even had what,
a girls weekend recently?
Yes. So this weekend was girls weekend.
We just finished up yesterday.
It's a three day long.
Girls weekend, ladies celebrate.
Bring being a woman,
shopping, dancing, fun,
all of the things right
here in downtown Madison.
So we have done themes.
So this year we had 1980s,
so we had the 80s ladies all throughout town.
They're pink, they're purple,
they're neon, everything.
They were just tearing up Main Street.
They had a great time,
from early morning yoga to a 1980s
dance party to brunch to shopping,
everything in between.
So girls weekend is really a really great
time to take your not just your girlfriends,
but, you know, your mom,
your sisters, things like that.
And just come to Madison and escape,
have a little bit of fun.
You can also just relax
everything in between.
It's all right here during girls weekend,
and it sounds like it's pretty
easy to plan a trip around.
Hey girls, we're going here.
Hey, get the guys together for,
you know, a party weekend as well.
It's it sounds like it's easy to
organize based on the different types
of restaurants and venues that you have,
right? There's really.
Something for everyone in Madison
between the book lovers and our readers
to the shoppers and fashionistas.
I mean, even the collectors.
We have so many people that love the
history and the architecture in Madison,
and they love to come here and
thrift and just enjoy everything
that the shops have to offer.
So that's where you could almost
see some of the guys coming in.
You know, we've,
we've had some ladies come
for girls weekend and their
partners have come with them too,
so there's yeah.
And I understand this is the
oldest Main St. in the nation.
Yes. So we were one of three
pilot projects with the National
Trust originally in the 70s,
I was launched in order to try
and revitalize main streets.
If you think back in the 70s,
lots of box stores, large stores were
coming into the small rural communities.
And really taking from that
local economic driver of these
entrepreneurs and small businesses,
so the National Trust started this program,
the Main Street program.
And Madison being one of three
has just really propelled us,
I think, to where we are now.
We've seen, we've seen it all.
We've seen it all.
We've seen the shops at their highest,
at their lowest and in between.
And that's what my job is.
And that's what's great
is I get to watch them,
support them and make sure that
they're here for the next 40 years.
All right. Austin, thank you
so much for showing us around.
Yeah, thank you all for being.
So to get started planning
your next trip to Madison,
go to visitmadison.org.
Coming up, we are planning your trip
to Madison for the history lover,
our top places to visit and explore.