Early in July, Main Street Coon Rapids sent out a survey around the COVID-19 recovery. We received 114 responses which has been formulated in the results below. Click here for the full results of the survey.

Respondents identified the following POSITIVE points about downtown Coon Rapids.

• New businesses
• Outdoor seating (restaurants, etc.)
• Curbside food pickup
• Kids’ activities
• Three primary reasons to shop downtown:  dining, general shopping, grocery shopping
• Respondents identified the need for either expanding or bringing in a new steakhouse, pizza, ice cream/sweets, brewery, deli sandwich/soups and casual dining restaurants.
• Respondents identified the need for either expanding or bringing in new sporting goods/outdoor recreation, arts/crafts, women’s clothing and cards and gifts stores.

Respondents identified the following NEGATIVE points about downtown Coon Rapids:

• Some members of community have issues with the lack of others taking COVID-19 seriously. There were a lot of comments in the survey about a lack of masks, etc.
• Internet service (one comment)
• Poor customer service skills at certain businesses
• Lack of consistent business hours
• Limited business hours
• Employment opportunities

Respondents identified the following points about downtown Coon Rapids that could be OPPORTUNTIES FOR IMPROVEMENT:

• Expand outdoor seating (restaurants, etc.).
• Expand kids’ activities.
• Root cause analysis on the "internet" performance comment - CRMU to follow up.
• Work with businesses to get more uniformity on consistent hours.
• Look to have at least one night a week as expanded hours (open until 7 or 8 p.m.).
• Work with certain businesses on customer relations.
• Continue to draw in businesses that bring with them multiple employees.
• Continue to encourage more investment by all, with focus on "male" population (need to increase 20% response rate).
• Continue using curb-side option for food pickup.

Interesting responses related to COVID-19

• Majority of respondents did not waste any time to continue "shopping for general items"; 78% jumped in right away. However, there was a little more reservation for eateries; only 45% jumped in right away.
• On-line shopping for internet sales only jumped slightly.
• Majority of respondents will wait a "longer time" before attending indoor events while a little shorter time for outdoor events.

406 Main Street, Coon Rapids, IA 50058 | 712-999-GROW | [email protected]