When Bruce Riggins wanted to open a business in downtown Macon, it helped that him and his father were longtime residents of the city.

Bruce and his son Nicholas Riggins, the owners of Churchill’s on Cherry, found it easier to get embedded in downtown business life as locals because of the help offered to those who are Macon community members.

“I’ve been in downtown up and down. I’ve seen it all the way through,” Bruce said, chuckling. “I always wanted to be a part of downtown fabric like I was when my father was here.”

When Bruce’s father died 23 years ago, he took over his company Cicero’s Moving and Storage. Fast forward to January 2023, the Riggins father-son duo opened Churchill’s food, drinks and cigar bar with assistance from NewTown Macon, a group spearheading downtown’s revitalization efforts.

“Wherever they see they can help out, they do it. If you do good work, you get a fair amount of support back,” Bruce told The Telegraph.

The efforts seem to be working to help maintain Macon’s new downtown shops. The average failure rate of businesses in downtown Macon is 11%, compared to the national average of 50% for small businesses, according to NewTown Macon.

Like the Riggins family, most other shops owned by locals received business loans, entrepreneurial advice and marketing support from the private nonprofit to get started and sustain success, according to Josh Rogers, president and CEO of NewTown.

“The process of opening a business is complicated,” Rogers said. “We’ve been really intentional with our programs from the beginning to make sure that local people are the ones who are doing and benefiting from the revitalization.”

Only one-third of downtown storefronts were occupied in 1996 when NewTown started. Now, the majority of shops are owned and operated by longtime residents or native Maconites, which is largely due to NewTown’s “local loyalty,” Rogers said. Most businesses downtown utilize NewTown’s resources.

“We don’t go to trade shows out of town to try and get corporations to move to Macon,” he said. “Our strategy for fixing the buildings and filling the storefronts has been to look for people within Macon.”

NewTown is the only community development financial institution in central Georgia, which means it is a nonprofit lender that pairs coaching with financial resources. The organization is funded by private donations.

Scott Mitchell, owner of Sweet Eleanor’s coffee and dessert shop and Bohemian Den metaphysical store, said the institution helped him develop goals, and provided loans to start the businesses.

“They helped me do everything from five and 10 year projections for the business, and really come up with an accurate plan,” Mitchell said, regarding Sweet Eleanor’s. “So pretty much from the initial conversation all the way to funding the business.”

When an aspiring local approaches NewTown to start a business, the nonprofit asks about their business pitch, whether they live in Macon and whether they have a passion to strengthen downtown.

From there, the organization invests financial resources such as business loans, as well as regular educational workshops like how to advertise and run a successful business.

The courses came in handy for Bruce and Nicholas to live up to their father and grandfather’s success with his moving company. Bruce said he is prepared to expand the Churchill’s space, thanks to NewTown.

“Nick is very involved in the education they offer. I’m thinking about using them to build out on the restaurant,” Bruce said. “I do what I say I’m going to do so they actually put their money where their mouth is.”

While the organization advocates for local startups, it’s not a government entity and doesn’t choose which businesses open or close. Those interested in opening a business must undergo regular compliance measures. This involves working with local planning and zoning and the water authority. It also involves working with the fire, health and agricultural departments, and building development services. New business owners also have to get business licenses and independent permits.

“I have no regulatory capacity at all. We’re not part of government, we’re not funded by government,” Rogers said. “Even if there was a regulatory process, NewTown wouldn’t be a part of it.”