By Tom Adams and NBC16.com staff
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. - New businesses continue to open up along a sizzling strip of Main Street in Springfield. The downtown renaissance even includes a new downtown grocery store. It's the Main Street Market, ready to open by the end of the month.
The market is a project of Erin Gilfillan, owner of the Friendly Street Market in south Eugene. "A place that people can walk to and get all the fresh, local organic produce and groceries that they expect in our area," Gilfillan said. She hopes to contribute to the momentum in downtown Springfield.
Just down the street from the new market is the Springfield annex of Cornbread Cafe, another business with roots in neighboring Eugene. Owner Sheree Walters held the soft opening of the restaurant in March. "We're focusing on Cajun and creole inspired cuisine," she said. Her new bar will open next week - and Walters said she has plans a grand opening in June. "She just has the vision and the energy - she has such a get it done spirit which I really admire in her," Keene said.
Gilfillan from the market feels something similar for Springfield. "Downtown Springfield is a community that I've really fallen in love with," she said. "The residents and the government are fully committed to really bringing this place back to life."
These business owners are believe the energy downtown will help bring success for their ventures. "That's a huge part of it is to be part of this whole revitalization effort that's going on," Walters from Cornbread Cafe said. Keene agrees. "We're getting to a place where people really enjoy being down here, so I think that people are just going to play on that momentum and make it exactly what they want it to be," she said.