BURLINGTON — When Kara Alnasrawi decided to start a small business earlier this decade, she knew she wanted it to be in downtown Burlington — the economic heart of the region.
Alnasrawi has run Liebling, a women’s clothing store on College Street, since she founded it seven years ago.
Now, she is tasked with shepherding Burlington’s main downtown shopping street as the recently-appointed director of the city’s Church Street Marketplace Department.
Alnasrawi was appointed to the position by Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger in November to replace Ron Redmond, who served in the position for over 20 years. In the role, she’ll be the head of the city department that provides enhanced security, cleaning and marketing services to Church Street businesses, funded primarily by a fee that Church Street’s commercial property owners pay.
Born and raised in the Burlington area, Alnasrawi graduated from the University of Vermont. She worked in finance in New York and Germany before moving back to the Burlington area, and now lives in Shelburne.
Alnasrawi is selling Liebling as she moves into her new position. She had a buyer lined up and hoped to close the sale by the end of the year.
Alnasrawi spoke to VTDigger about her view of the role, the strengths and weaknesses of the marketplace and issues facing downtown businesses. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
VTDigger: Why did the position interest you, and what do you what do you want to bring to it?
Kara Alnasrawi: To have an opportunity to help craft a better community for everyone, not just the merchants, but the residents, the tourists, really the community at large, I feel like that’s a fortunate opportunity to have.
VTD: Why did you decide to start a business in downtown Burlington?
KA: For me, downtown Burlington is, and always will be, the heart of Burlington and also the heart of the greater Burlington community. For me, it felt like if I was going to take a risk and make the investment to open a small business, it would be in Burlington. The fact that it’s a pedestrian mall makes it just such a natural attraction.
VTD: What do you think of the strengths and weaknesses of the Church Street Marketplace?
KA: I think the strengths far outweigh the weaknesses. I think the strengths are the local small business flair. A lot of towns haven’t been able to retain that around the country, but I think Burlington’s special in that way.
Obviously, the fact that it’s a pedestrian mall makes it a little bit magical and special — the way it’s lit up, the way it’s a gathering place, a place where you can meet, eat, drink, shop, stroll and people watch.
I think the weaknesses are the challenges that are always there. It’s the economic climate, locally or nationally. I feel like there’s a constant dialogue about whether shoppers are online or in person. The internet’s not going anywhere, so that’s definitely going to be an ongoing challenge.
VTD: What are your goals in this position?
KA: I’m still on the fact-finding mission. I have some meetings set up with the merchants and the fee payers. I’m really excited to get their feedback.
I think anytime there’s a change in leadership is a time to take stock of the situation, make changes, refresh — refreshing what’s offered on the street, refreshing what visitors see, refreshing how merchants experience having a business on the street.
VTD: You were a major proponent of the Downtown Improvement District last year, which would have expanded the Church Street Marketplace district to the side streets and create a nonprofit entity to manage the district. Why do you think voters were not on board?
KA: That would be speculation on my part. But let me start with what I didn’t hear. I did not hear that people were against an expansion of the district. I did hear that maybe the structure wasn’t exactly what they were hoping for.
In this role, hitting the ground running, my focus is Church Street. Should this issue come back, should the residents, the voters, the administration choose to look at the issue again, maybe the structure would be what we look at.
VTD: Do you still believe that more has to be done to lift up the side streets around the Church Street Marketplace?
KA: In my personal opinion? Yes, probably. That’s not currently in the purview of my position right now. I’m not spending the fee payer dollars to promote the side streets. Again, should that structure be proposed sometime in the future? That would be interesting.
VTD: How can Church Street compete in an era where shoppers are increasingly shopping online?
KA: What I made from my small business was an important part of my family’s income. So I felt very tied to brick and mortar and to its survival, by extension, my own.
People want contact with people. In my experience, with a clothing store, people want to discuss what they’re wearing, what they’re wearing it to, how it makes them feel. They want that human interaction.
Just as the pendulum swings towards the internet at some point because convenience is so attractive, I think the pendulum swings back and people seek to make contact with other people. I think brick and mortar has an important place in that.
VTD: What effect, if any, do you think the delays to the CityPlace Burlington project have on downtown business?
KA: From the perspective of a retailer, and from my limited time in this role, Burlington is very much open for business. I’ve looked at the numbers, the gross receipts are strong.
I see my role as helping to steward the street and the merchant community through the construction phase, and help mitigate any disruption that might have. But my focus is not on that project. The project isn’t really part of my role here.
My role is to really focus on what the merchants, the retailers and the restaurants need to have vibrancy and economic prosperity, how we can get more visitors and continue to expand it as a community destination.
