DJ Garcia, owner of the Wilton House of Pizza, considers himself a “pizza man by day, investor by night,” and is looking to inject some life back into Wilton’s downtown. Starting with his latest investment, the renovation of a building that is now offering the town four new commercial rental spaces.
Located at the head of Main Street, Garcia already has one tenant, The Lost Siren Hair Studio, in the door, and is looking for other Wilton residents who are seeking a place for their business.
Garcia said he’s specifically seeking Wilton residents to fill the building, because he wants his tenants to have invested in Wilton, and who want to see it thrive as much as he himself does.
“I think it’s a fast track to building community,” Garcia said, of having people live and work in town. “It used to be that way in Wilton, but now everyone just sleeps here, and then they leave for work and they get what they need out-of-town.”
The building has one commercial space that’s large and open-concept – about 1,200 square feet, as well as some 700-square-feet spaces. Garcia said he’d like to see a form of retail business move into the large space, and that the smaller spaces are suitable for client-based small businesses like a masseur, nail technician or for office space.
Garcia selected the building because of its proximity to the Wilton House of Pizza, and said he plans to use some of the space himself for goods storage for his business. But it’s location, it’s proximity to both Main Street and Route 31, and views of the Main Street and river also makes it ideal for those interested in starting a business downtown. Garcia said despite its size and suitable location, the building had been overlooked. So, he decided to take on the project himself, and after several renovations, the building is ready for rentals to move in.
Garcia said that although he and his wife have run the Wilton House of Pizza for the past seven years, he’s become more invested in the town’s economic development in the last three, jumping in as the town’s treasurer and contributing more to the ongoing conversation about bolstering the town’s Main Street. In the short time he’s been involved, he said he’s seen changes happen – Main Street recently opened GiGi’s Country Store, which carries fresh products, crafts and jellies, jams and honey, and is anticipating the opening of the Copper Kettle, a combined prepared meals business and tap room.
Jennifer Beck, chair of Wilton’s Economic Development Team, said those are two items that have been on her wish-list for the downtown for a long time. She hopes those additions, as well as unique locations such as the Artisans Boutique and Local Share, which feature locally made and unique products, are a good recipe for attracting visitors while still providing locals with basic needs.
“If you can create a real economic center, it increases property values, increases services for an aging town, and it gives people what they want,” Beck said. “People say, even though it’s only 15 minutes down the road, ‘I don’t want to go to Milford. I don’t want to go to Peterborough. I want to get my bread and milk and aspirin, those convenience items, right in my town.’”
Beck said Wilton has all the building blocks to create that economic center – a few specialty businesses that attract out-of-towners, a contained downtown with a view of the river. She said the professional space offered by the Garcias is a positive, because it makes the best use of the limited retail space available downtown. And there’s not a lot of professional retail space available. While Garcia hopes to attract locals, Beck said the town also needs space for young entrepreneurs to establish themselves, and a space like Garcia’s building might be the toehold they need to get their businesses off the ground.
“That would be the ideal scenario, where we attract some more young talent,” Beck said.
Garcia said whomever moves into the building, he wants it to be a good mix of services that will allow people to have everyday conveniences that attract them to come downtown and stay awhile. He wants to see it grow, he said.
“Everything we have is because of this town,” Garcia said. “We’re looking at projects like this as a way to pay it back. It’s a great town, and you can do well here. If a guy like me can do it, you can do it.”
For more information about the rental units, contact Garcia at wwhopllc@gmail.com or by calling or texting 603-801-7394.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.