Block by block, building by building, downtown Dothan isn’t just growing. It’s coming back to life.
Stacy Fountain has owned Downtown Books since 2021 and watched this block transform around her. Now she’s part of that transformation, moving across the street into a bigger space and breathing new life into a building that once sat vacant.
The building is also home to a new antique store.
“The fact that people are coming in and they’re taking these buildings and not tearing them down and building something else, but they’re taking them and repurposing them, renovating them, but keeping the character, keeping the charm,” Fountain said. She said new anchors like Porter Park and the Opera House aren’t just drawing people downtown, they’re keeping them here with growing foot traffic.
Then fate stepped in. Their tile-based game room, Circle City Mahj, is now one of downtown’s newest community spaces.
“We love the atmosphere downtown and all the people that are downtown. We wanted to bring community, a good, safe, fun community place where people could come and play mahjong and meet new friends,” they said.
“There’s a lot of people that depend on Dothan for their everyday needs and for their quality of life. So I think we’re just going to continue to see that grow as this southeast corner of the state continues to grow,” said Cureton, vice president of economic development for the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce. More businesses are still in the pipeline, including a paint-your-own pottery café called The Better Half, coming soon to downtown.
“A lot of that takes risk, and it takes a gamble sometimes. But it is certainly part of the American dream,” Cureton said. Dothan’s Small Business Week runs through this Friday. Download the WTVY News4 app to get alerts and stories the moment they are published.
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Downtown Dothan Entertainment Colton Cureton Circle City Mahj Porter Park Dothan Opera House Dothan Area Chamber Of Commerce Foster Street Foster Street Businesses Stacy Fountain Kelly Hobbs Alexis Thompson
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