Page 38 of Collin: Episodes 13-15
“So, what’s your point?”
“If we can double your foot traffic, give you the space for a rooftop beer garden, and preserve your current bar, would you consider taking space inside the planned station promenade? It needs a bar.”
She drummed her fingers on the counter. “That sounds like a lot of promises where I’m taking all the risk.”
“Reevesworth Industries is putting billions into the rail and the stations. The financial health of the company is involved in making this work. That’s how much Mr. Reevesworth and his team believe this is where our region needs to go. Car ownership among younger people is dropping, and the amount of miles they drive for pleasure or leisure and community is also falling off due to their wages. When the thirty-five and under population have access to lower-cost transportation and walkable communities, they spend more money on their local economy instead of buying everything online, and they spend more time socializing, which is good for mental health and community health.
“Establishments like yours are essential for encouraging socialization. If you’re in the promenade on the way to the train, it becomes less of an effort for someone to drop in for drinks, especially if they won’t be driving home afterwards. You would be an easy date night for couples after work. And there’s plenty of rooftop space to develop above the promenade for the visions you outlined in your application to the city. Plus, most of what is here can be preserved and installed in the new space, especially as the new station needs this land; the building would have to be moved or the materials repurposed anyway. There’s no reason the bar itself can’t be lifted and fitted in the new space since the plans are still flexible. You’d be the first entity in the space, so it could be built for you.” Collin motioned to the wood beams overhead, the bar, and the counters. He even looked down at the floor. “Pretty much all of this could be transferred.”
“Right now, people just walk in from the sidewalk. I’ll lose them if they have to go inside and look for me.”
“You can have a direct street entrance if you decide to try it. And there will be parking for the station, so customers will have even more parking opportunities than they have now. Currently, it’s just street parking or very expensive parking-garage parking.”
She drummed her fingers on the counter. “Point. I have to help this person. Be back.” She pushed off and went to pour beers.
A few minutes later, she came back. “What I don’t get is this train station promenade thing. It sounds like a mall, but we all know what’s happening to those. Kids are sneaking inside them like haunted houses. I can’t see it. Sounds nice, but…” She shrugged. “I’ve been to New York. Those subway stations aren’t a good place to put a business.”
“It won’t be like New York.” Collin pulled up the video Katharine had shown him. “Something like this?”
She watched the entire thing, then handed the phone back. “It’s just beyond me. I see it, but it just doesn’t look real. At least not for here.”
“What if I could get you to go see some of these places, try them out?”
She studied his face. “Like a trip?”
He nodded. “If I could get a field trip together and we paid for you to travel to Germany or someplace like that, would you be interested? Maybe bring some of the other people who have businesses around here to join in?”
She drummed her fingers on the bar again. “I’m not going to pay for it.”
“No, I’ll see if I can get funding.”
“You do that. You get the money, and I’ll ask around. If nothing else, it’s a free vacation, and who doesn’t want that?”
The door opened, and Ash and Alice tumbled inside. Collin spun around on his seat. “What are you two doing here? I thought you were shopping?”
Alice bounced up to Collin and flung her arms around him, slapping a kiss on his cheek. “You’re the best big brother ever.”
That was lipstick. Definitely lipstick. Collin’s hand went to his face, and he took another look at Alice and Ash. They did not look like they had when they had wandered off. Alice’s lips were now the same color as her skirt, and there were sparkles. Ash had smoky eyeliner on both eyes.
Collin rubbed at his cheeks and looked at his hand. Sure enough, blue sparkles were smeared over his fingers. “You…Alice!”
She dissolved into giggles, grabbing Ash to support herself. “You’ve got something on your face!”
Collin turned toward the bar. The woman handed him a damp napkin, grinning. Collin rubbed at his cheek. “Really, Alice?”
She bobbed her head up and down.
Collin groaned. “Well, since you’re here, Miriam, this is Alice, my little sister, obviously, and Ash, our friend. Alice, Ash, this is Miriam. She owns the bar. Don’t give them anything alcoholic; they’re both under twenty-one.”
“Noted.” Miriam’s tone was amused. She offered Alice her hand.
Alice shook it and made space for Ash. Ash took Miriam’s hand but obviously didn’t know what to do with it.
“Shake, Ash.” Alice patted his shoulder. “She’s being nice, not kidnapping you.”
Ash squeezed Miriam’s hand and shuffled back. “I didn’t think she was going to shank me; she’s just…like important and all that.”
Miriam chuckled. “I own a bar, that’s all.”
