Downtown Businesses Enjoying Busier Sundays in Fargo

Sundays are becoming an important day for businesses in downtown Fargo, but it hasn’t always been that way.
 
Not too long ago, if you were to go downtown on a Sunday, you wouldn’t find much going on.

But that’s since changed, all thanks to a push by the downtown community partnership encouraging businesses to stay open and many store owners are seeing the benefits.
 
It’s a busy Sunday for Ashley Morken and she can’t help but be surprised.
 
“I’m still surprised there’s so many people here,” says Unglued Owner Ashley Morken.
 
It was just this past summer when Morken changed her store hours to open on Sundays.
 
“We talk very often with our business neighbors to see what their hours are going to be and how they’re adjusting it and try to stick to similar ones,” says Morken.
 
One of those neighbors is Outermost Layer.
 
“Those of us who have decided to be open on Sundays have really always encouraged our fellow retailers downtown to be open on Sundays it happens to be some of our busiest times,” says Outermost Layer Co-Owner, Sally Loeffler.
 
The outdoor store has been open for Sunday business since they opened in 2010 and has seen the number of people coming downtown continuing to grow.

Loeffler says to make that happen, it’s just one simple formula.
 
“The more open the merrier,” says Loeffler.
 
“Come get a cup of coffee and just kind of enjoy the downtown area,” says Jared Midura of Fargo.
 
Jared Midura enjoys spending time downtown every weekend.

While he’s seen it become busier; he says there’s room for improvement.
 
“Different places will not be open and some places will be I’d like to see more places open on Sundays,” says Midura.
 
While Unglued is only open for four hours on Sunday, if business holds steady, that could change.
 
“We’ve seen customers trying to get in before one. So we could definitely see those hours extending,” says Morken.

Nearly 30 shops and restaurants downtown are open for business on Sunday.

The store owners I talked with are only expecting that number to increase.