Stanley Johnson isn’t convinced revamping the Lafayette square will benefit his business.

Quite the opposite.

Johnson is concerned the revitalization effort might be bad for business, so bad it could force the closing of Johnson’s Jewelry.

If the road and sidewalks were torn up at the same time, Johnson fears, customers couldn’t get to his store. He could be out of business before both re-open.

Johnson voiced that concern Thursday night, Nov. 19, during a meeting of Macon County Revitalization, Inc., at the Welcome Center.

That scenario is based on conversations, he said, with jewelry company representatives throughout the Southeast and business owners in Gallatin who went out of business as a direct result of that city’s square revitalization process.

“They said when they start tearing your sidewalks up and tearing the streets up and you can’t get to your customers that you might as well shut your doors,” Johnson said. “And I’m really concerned about that.”

Johnson wasn’t the only business owner concerned by that scenario.

“Believe me, I have that same fear,” said Miles Gibson, the group’s president and owner of Gibson’s Café.

Adding to that fear is the fact that Gibson’s residence also is located on the square.

Speaking for himself and not the group, Gibson said they’d be “hard-pressed” to shut down the square for any length of time.

Pete Williston, the group’s vice president and CEO of Citizens Bank, said there are differences for the better between Gallatin’s project and the one being planned here.

Macon County’s first revitalization meeting drew 40 people, Williston said. Seven showed for Gallatin’s first meeting.

Noting he wasn’t involved in Gallatin’s process, Williston said his sense “was they just sort of ramrodded that through.”

Williston said local mayors are supporting the process but not driving the process.

“That’s why it’s so important to have business owners and property owners involved in the process.,” Williston said. “We’re the ones with a dog in the fight.”

The majority of business owners around the square are members of Macon Revitalization, Inc., and have given $25 donations, though many of those owners do not attend the meetings.

“But the fact is they’re positive,” Gibson said. “They have an open ear.”

The group is still in the process of putting together a master plan to guide the project from start to finish. Overall, the project is still in the early stages of development.

New developments in the process were discussed throughout the 80-minute meeting.

More details to come.