Main Street Gets its own Web Site

Main Street in East Greenwich has great food, shopping, salons and more.

And now, it has its own Web site at www.mainstreeteastgreenwich.com.

"The idea was centered around positioning Main Street East Greenwich as a destination for shopping, dining, beauty salons that we all love about Main Street and open it up to other people in Rhode Island and beyond," said Glenn Fontaine, director of marketing for the East Greenwich Chamber of Commerce.

The idea was centered around the popular Main Street Strolls that have brought people to town to listen to music and engage with the local business community. Last year, three out of the four strolls were rained out and it was a bit of a letdown for many businesses who contributed time and money to plan the events.

The new Web site was developed in part to give those businesses some kind of reward for their hard work, providing them with banner ads and access to a blog feature on the site, which enables business owners to write about what's happening in their shops.

And with an online presence that features good photos, interesting stories and lots of links, the Web site gives the Main Street business community a chance to get some 24-hour-a-day marketing, seven days a week.

"The strolls have been an amazing thing for our town and they've been around for a long time," Fontaine said. "The new Web site is a tool to market the street that isn't dependent on weather."

On the site, you can read about how healthy eating and living is possible on Main Street, thanks to Rich Austin's blog post about shopping at Back To Basics, where he describes a mouth-watering meal he put together. Or hear from the owners of David - Max, a home goods and art boutique, on how their business went from idea to fruition.

The site also includes obvious information, such as a list of stores, hours, contact information and a calendar of upcoming events — did you know the Dogs on Main Stroll is around the corner on July 17? Now you do! You can also check back after events for photos, roundups and more information on what's happening each week.