After a summer fire damaged historical buildings and the period architecture in the small village of Holly, Linda Stouffer is one of many business owners who worried the damage would crimp a usually robust shopping season.
Stouffer, who owns Battle Alley Coffee Co. and lives in the village, said the June fire in Holly was bad enough, but the idea that, months later, it could threaten the bottom line for downtown merchants over the holidays was just as worrisome.
“The restaurant (at Holly Hotel) brought in a lot of people … people would go shopping afterwards,” she said. However, the publicity from losing the historic buildings plus the promotion of a new film that used the hotel as its setting has brought new and old visitors to downtown Holly.
Merchants report a steady stream of customers, with store openings downtown since the fire.
The coffee shop, which is 115 feet away from where the fire broke out, has been seeing “steady business with shopping traffic increasing even more than last year,” said Kourtney Determan, a manager at Battle Alley Coffee Co. who was working Monday afternoon and during Holly’s 49th Dickens Festival.
“We just finished the Dickens Festival for the last three weekends, and that was great. It was super busy,” Determan said. “The first Saturday was a really good day for us.”
“I think (more shoppers) might be from the publicity and the two movies that were filmed in town that just came out,” she said. “A couple came in today that saw my boss on TV last night and wanted to come check the place out.”
Determan said Battle Alley Coffee Co. is seeing so many customers that the shop had to be closed for one business day in order to switch the store to a Christmas theme.
Stouffer’s coffee shop and other businesses downtown are open, but the fire damage that totaled the Battle Alley Arcade Antiques Mall and caused severe damage to two adjacent structures could take a year to rebuild, according to local officials.
“If the wind had shifted just a little bit, we would’ve been in trouble, but fortunately it did not,” Stouffer said.
“These places hold a special place in people’s hearts, and right after the fire we saw many people come to look at the damage and to reminisce and talk about how their daughter had their wedding bridal shower at the hotel … they all had special memories,” Stouffer said.
The fire didn’t stop Amy Kuntz, who for the last 30 years, has been coming to Holly with her family for the Christmas season. On Monday afternoon, Kuntz, 55, went to the Holly Cafe, Holly Antiques and Pigeon in the Parlour, but this year, she said shopping felt “completely different” without the arcade and hotel open.
“It’s kind of sad. We’re hoping that they rebuild it fast, because … it’s a family tradition that you feel like was taken away,” Kuntz said.
John Bry, coordinator for Oakland County’s Main Street programs, said that once they learned the historic Holly Hotel, an 1800-era Victorian structure and restaurant that survived fires in 1913 and 1978 could be saved, the Historic Preservation Office and property owners started working on a restoration plan.
“The Holly Hotel took heavy fire and water damage, and Andy’s Place, which is a restaurant, was completely gutted by the fire, so it’s just a shell,” he said. The owner of the restaurant lived on the second floor, which was also destroyed.
Bry helped set up a crowdfunding campaign for business and property owners to make repairs to the damaged buildings and to provide grants to the small businesses affected by the fire.
The campaign launched in late June and surpassed its goal of $25,000 in August. Including the campaign and other community fundraisers, a total of about $80,000 was raised.
Nick Klempp, the director of the Downtown Development Authority, said the money raised for Holly helped about eight businesses, two tenants, 70 employees and 20 vendors, who had booths at the Battle Alley Arcade Antiques.
“I am proud of the support we were able to give through so many great people and organizations,” Klempp said. “To see the outpouring of the community and surrounding communities has been overwhelming and gives us hope of what is to come and the we will be back and stronger in the end.”
Creative Fashions was next door from where Antiques Arcades Mall once stood and was one of the stores to see fire damage. Its owner, Robbin Yelverton, said he is hopeful the store will see its third grand opening in the winter season next year.
The clothing store made its first grand opening in 2020 before closing in the pandemic. It reopened in 2021 and has been closed since June 2022 because of roof, window and other exterior damage from the June fire.
Yelverton owns Holly Antiques and Blumz on South Saginaw Street, which are still open and were not affected by the fire. For those two businesses, turnout has been similar to last year, he said.
“We were very pleased to see that a good number of shoppers this season, just like last year, were coming from out of the area,” he said. “They look at Holly as a cute little destination that has a quaint tradition of having the Dickens Festival … and that’s what we have experienced.”
Yelverton is focused on finishing out the Christmas season and looking forward to a new year that will welcome the Dickens Festival for the 50th year.
“We’re already planning to make it extra special,” he said.
Many shops in the business district, like the Hudsonville Creamery and Ice Cream Co., Raggs Boutique, Iron Wood Refinery, and other dining and retail shops are open.
The Holly Hotel and Holly Moose Lodge, which was next door to Andy’s Place, a two-story restaurant whose interior was destroyed, are the only businesses that are temporarily closed.
Local residents like Megan Beardsley, who was working at Holly Cafe on Monday, say everyone in the village is affected by the closings. “We want all of our friends to be back at work and we want to … support our local businesses,” she said.