Oct 1, 2007

Old Town Merchants Worry Cruisers Will Pass Them ByBy Al ShowersWLOX.com

Some Old Town Bay St. Louis shop owners are unhappy with the decision to host this year’s Cruisin the Coast venue in the city’s Depot District.

Last year, the devastation that remained from Katrina forced the Bay’s Cruisin event to move. But this year, Old Town merchants say the area has recovered enough to bring the event back to the waterfront.

“We look 100 percent better down here than we did a year ago,” Old Town merchant Pam Collins said.

Collins co-owns a gift shop on Main Street. She says business owners in Old Town have made huge investments rebuilding since Katrina, and they’re disappointed the city has detoured cruisers to the Depot.

“Cumulatively, we have put in hundreds of thousands of dollars out of our own personal accounts, and to me, the city is just turning their backs on us,” Collins said.

Mayor Eddie Favre said that’s simply not true.

“Unfortunately this year, without the beach road being completed and some of the other infrastructure work that needs to be done, it’s just not suitable to accommodate the Cruisin’ crowd,” Mayor Favre said.

Merchants don’t see it that way.

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