Market Night showcases makeover
Shoppers return to revamped Downtown Clinton
Julie Tomsho of Sevierville holds a yard ornament she found to buy as a birthday gift for her sister at The Shoppe at 350 Market in downtown Clinton during the Market Night event last Saturday evening. Looking on is the shop owner Sanford Katine. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
Roberta Katine, co-owner of The Shoppe at 350 Market, said she was “very pleased” with the turnout for the event, which ran from 5-8 p.m., and included street vendors and food trucks all along Market Street.
“We’ve had a good crowd of people in our store,” she said about halfway through the evening.
Among the shoppers was Julie Tomsho of Sevierville, who said she was excited to see all of the improvements in the downtown area, which is one of her favorite places to shop.
“We like to come to Clinton,” she said while shopping for a birthday gift for her sister in Katine’s store.
The temperature was in the upper 70s, the sky was cloudy, and there was no hint of rain, which Katine said made for the perfect weather for a summer evening of shopping.
Conducted by the Historic Downtown Clinton Merchants Association, the Market Night events – generally held four Saturdays each summer – give visitors the rare opportunity to shop on Saturday evenings.
The brick-and-mortar stores stay open late to accommodate the visitors, which are quite welcome this year as Market Street comes back to life after a shutdown for major sidewalk reconstruction and other improvements over the past year-and-a-half.
Even though Market Street was closed to vehicular traffic during the evening event, the new sidewalks were ready to accommodate people on foot.
