HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – Since taking office in January, Huntington’s Mayor Patrick Farrell has said he wants to make the city a more business-friendly environment.
This, while business owners have expressed concerns about safety and the economic future of the city.
When you talk about local businesses in the city of Huntington, Jeff’s Bike Shop has been a staple on Sixth Avenue for decades.
“A little over 35 years in downtown,” said owner Jeff Joy. “We’ve seen a lot of different changes the city’s gone through over the years.”
Joy says some of those changes have been positive … others, not so much.
“Right now, the homelessness is a problem,” Joy said. “We see a lot of needles.”
Joy says he believes those issues are hurting the city and the bottom line for many.
“As a business owner you hate to see people say they hate to come downtown because of what they run into when they come downtown,” he said. “It’s a big deal, and I hear that from everybody.”
The problems span from long running retail to restaurants.
When you’re grabbing a bite to eat downtown, chances are you’ve stopped at The Peddler.
“I’ve been in the game a long time,” said owner Drew Hetzer. “We opened up in 2012, we love this city, we love being able to offer some different experiences for people downtown and also serve excellent food.”
Hetzer, who also owns Backyard Pizza next door, said he feels the same issues create challenges for getting customers in the door.
“It’s getting people to come out and experience your business,” Hetzer said. “That’s been the main goal for businesses downtown.”
So, enter newly on the job Mayor Patrick Farrell.
He says he plans to foster a business friendly environment, support local entrepreneurs and attract investment, but with some business owners concerned and others even closing up shop, we wanted to know how he plans to do that and address the issues.
“Why has that been such a big first push right out of the gate, first of all we want to tackle businesses, among other things?” asked WSAZ’s Lesya Feinstein.
“Among other things is exactly right, first we’re going to tackle public safety,” Mayor Farrell said. “After public safety we need to invest in our infrastructure, all of that to help businesses grow.”
“Safety is a concern in the Huntington area,” Lesya asked Hetzer at The Peddler. “Talk to me about that, do you feel safe, does your crew feel safe working here?”
“One of the most important things I think, something very important to get people to come out is if they feel safe,” Hetzer said. “We need the right measures to be taken so people feel safe to dine and shop in downtown Huntington.
“As a business owner, what would you like to see?” Lesya asked Joy at Jeff’s Bike Shop.
“That would have to be top priority,” he said. “Get the people off the streets, getting the drug addicts out of here, that’s definitely number one.”
“How do we tackle that problem?” Lesya asked.
“We make it safer. I don’t just say that glibly. Public safety is always on everyone’s mind. You have to actually make it safer, but you also have to have a perception of safety,” Farrell replied. “There are a lot of things we can do, certainly we can use some law enforcement to make sure the bad element gets removed. At the same time, we’re going to show people this is a safe, vibrant, welcoming city, and a place they can enjoy a night of shopping or dining and this is the place they can bring their families.”
“Do you understand why businesses would be weary to come here?” Lesya asked the Mayor.
“Businesses are concerned and people are concerned,” Farrell said. “When people feel unsafe in their neighborhood whether it’s at the park or their backyard. When they find needles, that becomes a problem. What we can do as a population is make sure the homeless population is cared for in a caring empathetic way, and also make sure laws are being enforced.”
Farrell says he plans to create a business friendly environment by what he describes as ‘doing the ordinary things extraordinarily well.’
That includes removing snow, making sure parking meters and lights work and fixing sidewalks.
Business owners are anxious for change and creating an environment where they can grow and thrive.
“The more successful businesses you have downtown, the more foot traffic you’re going to get, the more hype you’re going to be about people wanting to come downtown to shop, eat and experience what Huntington has to offer,” Hetzer said.
You’ll notice Farrell didn’t get into many specifics in his answers to our questions.
In working on his plans, he’s come out with a survey to get information from business owners.
He’s asking them to fill it out, to see what’s helped, what hasn’t and what they would like to see going forward.
It’s only four questions but he believes those answers will be critical to implementing change.
We will be checking in to see how he uses that information.
Huntington business owners can fill out the survey here.
Copyright 2025 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
