Downtown Sault Ste. Marie Squared looks at shopping local on both sides of the river

Organizations on both sides of the border have established a new social media presence - Downtown Sault Ste. Marie Squared - as a way of promoting events and businesses in downtown Sault Ontario and downtown Sault Michigan. 

Downtown Association General Manager Josh Ingram says the ‘bridging of two downtowns’  was the result of a series of meetings between his team and the Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Development Authority that took place over the course of last winter. 

“It’s live right now, and we’ll be posting on a regular basis,” said Ingram of Downtown Sault Ste. Marie Squared. “There’s going to be two types of posts in the social media accounts - kind of similar businesses.” 

“We’ll do posts where we highlight a coffee shop in Ontario and a coffee shop in Michigan, and we’ll denote that by a little graphic and a flag, and we’ll talk about what’s special about their locations, their operating hours.”

Ingram would ultimately like to see locals and tourists take in both downtown cores for local shopping and entertainment, which could lead to a joint event hosted by the two downtown associations in the future.  

“I think there’s real potential to maybe revitalize the bridge shuttle that goes across the river and really organize some events that are happening on the same day, so you can take a shuttle back and forth between the two downtowns,” he said. “I’d love to see a joint event happen eventually.”

For Sault Michigan downtown development director Justin Knepper, Downtown Sault Ste. Marie Squared serves as a way of breaking down barriers and bring back a connection between the twin Saults - one that predates the International Bridge, even - that people on the American side of the river often reminisce about.  

“Our downtown associations, I think we have a little bit more of a grassroots connection where we’re both working with small businesses, with events and festivals, with our public a lot more,” Knepper told SooToday. “We’re just looking at making sure that people on both sides of the river become educated about what’s happening in our downtown areas and really embrace shopping local, supporting local - and considering both sides of the river local.” 

“It’s really close when you think about it,” said Ingram. “You can check those bridge cams, and sometimes it’s pretty empty - people drive from Guelph or Brampton or Mississauga to see a hockey game in Toronto, right?” 

“There’s no reason we can’t pop over across the bridge for some amazing theatre or the Moonlight Magic event we have now. We have four, five thousand people that come out to that, so why not invite our neighbours across the bridge?”

Knepper says that given the area has more than 400 businesses within two historic downtown cores, it’s important to support each other in order to grow as a region. 

“My goal is to see a lot less Sault Michigan people and a lot less Sault Ontario people decide they have to drive out of the area to buy something, or to do something fun,” he said. “We have so much going on on both sides, and if the people become exposed to what’s across the river on either side, we’re able to retain a lot more local dollars and we’re able to boost our passion that people have for the community.” 

Downtown Sault Ste. Marie Squared can be found on its social media page.