The Economic Development Authority helped businesses pay to have their names and logos on blue signs on the freeway near the Centerville exit. It started as a way to help struggling businesses survive at the beginning of the COVID pandemic.
“We want to try to capture that freeway business, we want to bring people into town,” said Centerville City Administrator Mark Statz. “We noticed that nobody in our city was on one of the blue logo signs on the freeway and so we thought it was a great opportunity to get the word out that Centerville exists.”
The signs may seem like a small thing, but at Todd Steffen’s Shell Station, it’s visibility that seems to be working.
“Oh I think it definitely helps,” said Steffen. “You see the faces you wouldn’t normally see. We know just about everybody in town by name, but you do see now people from Iowa, people from Wisconsin.”
Steffen says Centerville is not really a destination community for most travelers, so it helps to have something to direct people.
“Whether its Mobil, us or whatever, it at least gets them off the freeway. So, otherwise they’d probably stop in Forest Lake, White Bear or just wait until the cities you know.”
Now, the Centerville EDA has extended the program for three years. The city says it’s in a good location to snag business that otherwise drives on by.
“Especially maybe some people that are coming down from the north looking for one last stop before they hit the big city,” said Statz. “People don’t always like to stop in the middle of a crowded city. They like to make that gas stop or get a bite to eat right before they hit the metro area. So we feel we’re in a good position for that.”
And the hope is when travelers come for necessities, they’ll make more than one stop.
“They come inside spend money, or go to Wise Guys and have pizza or beer and whatever,” said Steffen. “So it’s good to get them off the interstate and spend money in a small town.”
There are four blue logo signs pointing drivers to Centerville businesses. Under the three year extension, the Centerville EDA will pay 50 percent of the cost for businesses that are already on the signs, and pay 75 percent for new ones for the first year.
