Metuchen, NJ, Voted One of Three Best Main Streets in America

As you work through your holiday shopping list, one relatively small town in New Jersey was just voted as having one of the top three best Main Streets in America.

The Great American Main Street Award winners were recently announced for this year, showcasing "excellence in creating welcoming downtowns through representative leadership, innovative programming and inclusive economic development."

The Main Street America organization has been handing out its awards since the mid-90s and has honored over 100 cities.

Criteria for winning include the following:

• Community outreach
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Strength of the Main Street program in spurring community transformation
• Commitment to historic preservation

Before celebrating the winner in the Garden State, let's look at the other two winning cities.

Florence, South Carolina

Downtown Florence’s district is the definition of small, but mighty: encompassing just eight blocks, visitors find a jewel box of exceptional local dining, award-winning entertainment venues, unique shopping, and architectural gems—from stately early 19th and early 20th century commercial buildings to Craftsman and Post War-ear residential neighborhoods.

Danville, Virginia

Initiatives to improve façades, develop regional entrepreneurship ecosystems, and match small business technical assistance with start-up funding are points of pride for the organization that have also resulted in a drastic increase of their commercial occupancy rate and welcoming more than 150 businesses downtown.

And as for New Jersey...

Metuchen

The borough of about 15,000 people in Middlesex County has been voted as having one of the top three Main Streets in America.

Quite an honor!

From painting the words “Shop Small, Shop Local” on the railroad bridge that crosses over the town’s Main Street to using Small Business Saturday as a springboard for an entire month of promotional activities, Metuchen Downtown Alliance truly walks the walk when it comes to creating a culture of supporting small businesses.

More information

• For all that Metuchen has to offer, visit the Metuchen Downtown Alliance website.