in the area . He also said he likes the diversity of crowds in the area .
“ Downtown ’ s pretty cool ,” Gouard said . “ There ’ s a lot going on … it ’ s always good to see different faces .”
One thing he and his customers have had to get used to since moving locations , he said , was the new parking situation .
“ My old location had more of a parking lot ,” Gouard said . Downtown Danville is mainly street parking with a two-hour limit during the week .
“ A lot of the ladies have longer hairstyles , so it takes longer to do ,” he said , adding that some of his customers have been receiving tickets for exceeding the parking time limit .
Amy and Troy Wasson opened The Local Farmhouse at 55 N . Vermilion St . in December 2021 .
They ’ d expected a soft opening to give people the opportunity to shop for the holiday season , but that quickly turned into a six-day work week throughout the holiday season because of their successful opening day .
“ I knew there would be people that were supporting us , but I had no idea that the community and outside communities would show up the way they did ,” Amy Wasson said .
From the initial store opening in December to now , Wasson said people from outside Vermilion County have been driving to downtown Danville to shop there , including residents from Monitcello , Mahomet and Fishers , Ind . She said there was even a couple from Washington driving through on a road trip who stopped to shop .
Seeing the support from people within the community has also been relieving in a way , she said .
“ Some people thought we were crazy opening a retail store during COVID , especially a store that ’ s a little different from anything we ’ ve ever had here in town …,” Wasson said . “ If I ’ m going to do something , I ’ m going to do it 110 percent , so that was a little scary but people showed up , and they wanted it and we were able to give it to them .”
Being a part of downtown Danville has been a plus , too , she said , adding that the different businesses have built great relationships with each other .
“ It kind of feels like a community ,” Wasson said . “ You don ’ t feel like you ’ re just a store sitting out there all by itself ... we all get along really well and visit with each other .”
Though the downtown area has seen growth and progress over the past year , Wasson said there is always room for more growth and she is excited to see how the area can continue to grow .
Jalyn Marcott , owner of Willows and Moon , said her move to downtown Danville has been wonderful so far .
Marcott moved her “ one-stop shop for self-discovery and spiritual needs ” to 19 E . North St . from Rossville in July .
She said she now offers locally sourced products from more than 30 local artists in her store . Before moving to North Street , she had around 10-15 .
“ It ’ s really cool to see all of the new people getting to share their stuff , too ,” Marcott said .
Since moving her shop to Danville , she has noticed a difference in product interest . When people were shopping in Rossville , they were shopping for bundles of products at one time .
“ We were getting first-time customers all of the time that were getting a lot of things ( at once ),” Marcott said . “ Now we ’ re getting regular customers getting , like , a handful of things .”
Marcott said opening her own unique store possibly opens the door for more unique businesses to join the downtown Danville community .
“ I feel like downtown is only getting better and better all of the time ,” Marcott said . “ It ’ s cool getting in here on North Street , specifically , early because I feel like this side of the street is a little emptier than ( North Vermilion Street ).”
The shop has a variety of activities each Friday and Saturday . Lately activities have included palm readings and tarot card readings , but Marcott said she has been looking into offering reiki as well .
Reiki translates from Japanese to “ universal life energy ” in English . Oxford English Dictionary defines reiki as “ a healing technique based on the principle that the therapist can channel energy into the patient by means of touch , to activate the natural healing processes of the patient ’ s body and restore physical and emotional well-being .”
Marcott said she is also looking into offering introductory classes or tours throughout her store .
“ There ’ s a lot to learn in here if you ’ re a beginner in any kind of spiritual practices or self-care or creativity ,” she said . “ Coming here is just good to learn about how to get in a good routine to learn to better yourself .”
OUR COMMUNITY — 2022 37