Category: Business and Tourism

Another contribution I would make to the Ralston community would be to Ward 4. In “A Structural Look at Ralston”, this ward scores a 3 for Ward Vitality, but a 2 for Ward Neighborliness, showing it could benefit from something that brings residents together. Ward 3 has an active group of birdwatchers, as well as Ralston High School and “Rivet” High. I think a small cafe between the schools and the canal would be a perfect way to bring people together here. It would draw students both before school to get breakfast/coffee, as well as after school as a place to get a snack or meet with friends or a study group. It would draw birdwatchers as well because of its proximity to the canal, therefore being an ideal spot to grab a bite to eat. By being located in between the canal and the high schools, it would be in an easily-accessible spot for students and birdwatchers, while not being too close to disrupt the local wildlife that is so important to the birdwatchers. A cafe would also offer new job opportunities for the Ralston community – and its location would be perfect for students looking for after-school jobs.

A cafe would greatly benefit Ward 4 by bringing together the multiple groups that are already drawn to it. This would help to raise the Neighborliness score that unfortunately falls behind some of the other wards.

I would start a restaurant in the canal enterprise district, Ward 2, based on a familiar business model I have been following in Essex Junction, Vermont. The business is called Mark BBQ, and the community comes together over food and helping one another. The idea is to serve great food to the public while coming up with ways to donate money to causes, gain community attention for other businesses, and set up days where the food is all about being where it’s needed. Members who need a meal or are struggling can come into the restaurant or call and have a premade meal given to them no questions asked. To get to this point in functioning, I would need to have support from the community. The neighbors who came in when they were struggling, will remember the restaurant, telling others to spread the word, or come back to support when they are able. Including everyone and giving back, when possible, will be a great accomplishment. Another way to help reach people all over the island, especially Ward 1, would be offering delivery. This could be an option depending on how things are planned but having a building as near to the district in need as well as one with the most attraction and business potential would be a good compromise. This business would be a contact zone because there is a social space where customers would come together. There would be clear differences in the members gathering and coexisting in the restaurant.

I propose that ward two should have a haunted house in their neighborhood. This proposal is to get the peoples attention to their part of Ralston with a eye catching building. Plus, who does not love a haunted house? Haunted houses bring in lots and lots of people each and every time to the attraction. It’s a memory that people hold on to for years. This addition will bring in new ideas on how to make the hunted house even better and bring in many helpers. The haunted house proposal is perfect for people to come together to create something fun and memorable.

I also live in a small town, there are very few stores, but one that stands out from all of these is Shady Glen, an ice cream and burger place. I think that Ralston could also benefit from a business such as this, it would again create a better community, as well as, open jobs for people, and help their economy.

In Ward 1, it is considered the “Ghost Town” according to the structural look on the index provided. Adding restaurants and other places of attraction such as businesses or a park near the waterfront (like Burlington) or hikes or bowling alleys or other attractions would make an impact on that one uncared-for section of the town. This would also bring attention to the town from people surrounding Burlington as food chains or chain restaurants could also be there. This will make the community better as it utilizes the unused space and bring more tourism into the town. Since Ralston is on an island, it makes the competition for restaurants wanting to settle higher and make the town more modern and updated with potential new buildings. Having different wards of town makes the town more unique and potentially more appealing to people. The town already has a great and bonding community but adding more businesses would make it better.

One thing I noticed when looking at the map of Ralston was that while there are restaurants and pubs, there is no place to physically buy food. With this in mind my proposal for my contribution would be to create a grocery store that is specifically local to Ralston. I feel like Ralston would have a store that specializes in their seafood seeing as they are by the water and are big on boating, but also has organic, fresh, and local fruits and vegetables. I could design the store layout, but my idea in mind was to create a logo for the store itself. This would be considered built environment because its the creation of a physical building.

A business proposal I would bring to Ralston would be a flower/plant shop. I would start a business that would own property and has a few greenhouses to grow in. Being hired by the city to create and maintain gardens throughout the community would bring beauty for the passerby, more jobs, and revenue/support to a local business. Providing the city with a unique character through gardening while offering plants, mulch, and floral deliveries to the community members. Improving the community through gardening on the streets, around main signs, and city buildings would show the Heart & Soul Attributes while creating a different reputation compared to the neighboring city of Burlington.

My contribution to Ralston would be a Tech Cafe which is, in short, a place where people can go to get food and eat while also using built-in computers to do work or chat with people. My Tech Cafe would also include an area where people can go for technical assistance. This place would work as a wonderful contact zone for all people within Ralston to both eat and get together. It would especially provide benefit for older folks or similar people who are not technically inclined. It would be a place that gives them a reason to leave their houses and see other people as well as be able to communicate with others who they are not as easily able to visit in their older age. Its prosperity will come from being a good hang out place for younger people after school or during breaks as well as people who may not own or know how to effectively use a computer. Plus, due to Ralston being somewhat isolated from the rest of the state due to the canal, it provides a place for technical assistance that would have normally resulted in people needing to leave the city. It fits well with the community driven ideals of Ralston as well as allows for even more autonomy from the rest of the state.