Brandon Colburn shops with his daughter Ella at U.G. White during Chocolate Walk in downtown Athens on Feb. 11.

Imagine yourself as a $10 bill, green, slightly wrinkled, and displaying a portrait of Alexander Hamilton.

If your owner spends you in Athens, you do more than make a transaction for services or goods. You invest in the local economy. As a $10 bill spent in Athens, you have supported a business in your city and the jobs that business provides.

Secondly, you have supported city services. Sales tax comprises nearly 40 percent of revenues for the city of Athens. Those revenues fund sanitation, police, fire, recreation, streets and other city services.

Lastly, you have helped make Athens attractive to other retail prospects by demonstrating your support of the local economy.

Athens offers commercial corridors with chain retail and restaurants and unique businesses as well as a historic downtown with mom-and-pop merchants. The city’s One Stop Shop program, Greater Limestone County Chamber of Commerce, Athens Main Street and developers work to support, recruit and enhance retail in Athens.

“Nearly every week the city is approached by people interested in locating here if there is a site that meets their physical and financial needs,” Mayor Ronnie Marks said.

The One Stop Shop program helps potential retail to smoothly navigate requirements for zoning, licensing and safety as well as provide information on available sites.

The chamber and Athens Main Street provide merchant support through workshops, networking events and retail events such as Christmas Open House, which both entities host citywide. In addition, Athens Main Street offers Sippin’ Cider, Chocolate Walk and Fridays After Five for downtown merchants.

“Most of the downtown events pack us out,” said LuVici’s owner Jerry Sandlin. “Each event adds 30 percent-plus to our sales.”

Amy Higginbotham, owner of Trinity’s, said the events entice new people to shop local.

“Events provide exposure to citizens of Limestone County who may not otherwise come downtown to shop and dine on a regular basis,” she said.

The retail events also lure people from elsewhere in the region to shop in Athens, which adds to the local economy.

“Downtown events bring out-of-towners,” said Tiffany Seibert, owner of Snapdragon Kids. “We have had many customers from neighboring cities come back to shop after visiting our store during an event.”

During the Feb. 11 Chocolate Walk, Diane Lehr, vice president of Athens Arts League, said that event drew a crowd to High Cotton Arts, the nonprofit downtown art incubator operated by AAL.

“Those of us volunteering at High Cotton Arts for the Chocolate Walk loved the surprise that people expressed at there being such a cool venue downtown,” she said. “I met two ladies who recently moved to the area from Michigan. They loved High Cotton and plan to return for art classes and one to purchase a painting she admired. The downtown events increase sales, attract new shoppers and lead to future purchases, too.”

— Details for this report provided by Holly Hollman, grant coordinator and communications specialist for the city of Athens.