Downtown merchants say ?Thanks with Franks?

By Brooks Taylor, Mt. Pleasant News

Downtown Mt. Pleasant merchants paid thanks to their customers ? and potential new customers ? Tuesday night with free hot dogs during the ?Thanks with Franks? promotion in Central Park.

This year marked the second time the Downtown Retail Committee has hosted the event. The first occasion was two years ago, and following a one-year hiatus, the merchants brought it back.

?We wanted to say thanks to everyone who is supporting the downtown retailers,? said Heather Leichty, owner of Your Dream Furniture and Flooring along with her husband, Dwayne. ?It was a fun night two years ago and people really enjoyed it. We are trying to make this an annual event.?

Leichty vividly remembers the first Thanks with Franks event because she ran out of hot dogs.

?It?s fun, I like talking to people and knowing the community,? she said.

Jeff Johnson was one of those enjoying the hot dogs. ?I just love hot dogs,? he said as he was making the rounds with his mother, Brenda Rogers. ?I am going to eat as many as I can. I want to test every stand.?

Meanwhile, Jeff?s mother, Bonnie, was at the park ?because the hot dogs smelled so good.?

Seven retailers were offering the hot dogs and each retailer had 50 franks to give.

Jade Johnston and Kelly Upton were handling the Hy-Vee Drug Store stand, although Upton said she was there ?to provide the muscles. I am not allowed to cook.?

Johnson was handling the cooking and said she began cooking the hot dogs at 3:30 p.m. For her, it was business as usual because she prepares food every week for Market on Main late Tuesday afternoons in the park.

Don and Carol Mehafy, of Mt. Pleasant, were driving past the park when they noticed the activity. They were glad they checked it out.

?We were driving by and saw a lot of people in the park, so we thought we would see what was going on,? noted D. Mehaffy. ?We?re glad we stopped because we love hot dogs.?

In addition to the franks, Market on Main was set up in the southeast quadrant of the park and there were games for the kids while their parents ate hot dogs.

Lisa Oetken, Main Street Mt. Pleasant director, said that was the plan.

?We try to do something special each month with Market on Main. It (Thanks with Franks) went really well two years ago which was encouraging because it is difficult to market something the first time. People thought it was cool and different.

?This year we worked in some kids? games because we try to add something to our events each year,? she added.

The promotion was skipped last year, but Oetken said she hopes it becomes an annual event. ?Last year came and went and we didn?t have time to plan it. This time, we put it on the calendar last fall.?