After more than a decade of pouring his passion into the betterment of West Reading as a resident and business owner, Mark Ratcliffe stepped into a formal position to continue doing just that — building a better cultural district for Berks residents and merchants.
How did you get involved in the Main Street Program? I started the Reading Pretzel Festival as a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity, and in that process, someone reached out to let me know the Main Street position was open. I have a history with West Reading; I came to the area with Godiva Chocolate, but after 10 years I left to open the Hard Bean Café. I worked in the café for six years and saw some really great growth in West Reading. They had just started the Main Street Program at that time, and it was something that became a passion project for me.
What does the Main Street Program do? A lot of what we do is marketing and promotion for the businesses. Along with that we run all the major events in town: Art on the Avenue, Fall Festival, the Craft Pretzel and Beer Fest, Holiday Glow. There are a ton of behind-the-scenes things, too. We’re kind of the go-to for the borough to help streamline things for merchants.
It sounds like you bring a strong marketing background to the area’s businesses.Yes, when I came to the area with Godiva I was working in digital merchandising and retail design. That was one of the reasons I liked the Main Street job; it’s such a great fit between the events that I enjoy doing and the retail environment I know so well. I tend to be a creative thinker, and I can just see where West Reading could be in the next 10 years, and I’m hoping to continue to drive it in that direction.
Are you working on any new creative plans now? We’re trying to get a parking program in place. The borough has grown tremendously over the last 20 years, and now property values are high enough that it’s not feasible to purchase properties for parking. So we’ve been able to work with half a dozen private parking lot owners to create an agreement that we will charge for parking and they will see some proceeds from that. We’re also working on a five-year plan for the borough. New development is going to bring an influx of people in the next year or so, which will be great for the avenue, but we want to grow in a smart way.
You always seem to have a “passion project.” Are you working on something now? Right now, I’m trying to revitalize “Pretzel City” as our moniker. Freeport, Illinois, has been using it better than we have, and they don’t have a single pretzel manufacturer in the area. We have seven! We make more pretzels per capita in our area than anywhere else in the nation, so as we struggle to find some identity, I feel like we aren’t doing enough with this. I’m working on a few pretzel-related projects that will hopefully start to rebrand us as time goes on.
Experience the Passion. West Reading’s annual Art on the Avenue festival will be held Saturday, June 15. Follow @PennAvenueWestReading for details and more exciting event announcements.
Lend a Hand. The Main Street Program is always looking for assistance. Contact Mark at mark@wrcrf.org or visit visitwestreading.org for more information.
