Business and city officials here have a new plan to bring more people to its Main Street retail district and offer vendors a chance to sell their wares next summer.

For the first time, a weekly farmers-style market will line Main Street to offer shoppers fresh food and handmade goods in the expectation it will bring more business to New Carlisle’s brick-and-mortar merchants.

The Western Clark County Business Coalition is working with the New Carlisle Downtown Merchant’s Association, which will operate the market, and city officials to determine how best to make the planned Community Market on Saturdays a success.

“We have to try to figure out a marketing strategy. That’s where Western Clark County Business Coalition is coming into it,” said Rhonda Ledford of the coalition.

Word of mouth will be a strong ally, she said. Leaders hope they’ll have a strong turnout from the start and that attendees will pass information about it on to others.

A farmer’s market was open in New Carlisle in years past, but last year’s was stopped mid-summer due to lack of attendance, despite a strong local market for handmade and home-grown goods, she said.

“We are a farming community and have a lot of local merchants who produce their own honey, have fresh vegetables,” she said.

Visibility for the past market was a problem. “It was on a side street and wasn’t very visible before,” Ledford said.

She feels that moving a similar market along the busy Ohio 235 route through downtown and in front of permanent store fronts will benefit both existing and market merchants.

New Carlisle has seen a growth in its downtown retail district in the past year, including a new coffee shop and art gallery, toy store, a home store, a new flower shop that recently moved to Main Street and others.

There’s still planning to be done and the coalition will assist the merchants in any way that’s needed, Ledford said, but the idea is to attract people to downtown and keep them coming back to buy locally.

That “buy local” mentality dovetails with an ongoing campaign called Impact Bethel, which urges shoppers to look locally for goods before going outside the community.

Community Market is tentatively planned for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. mid-June through the week before the annual Heritage of Flight Festival in September, according to City Manager Kim Jones.

Those interested in the coalition can attend its monthly meeting, next held at noon Dec. 6 at the Cassano’s party room, 1525 Dayton-Lakeview Road.

Madge Shellhaas from the Downtown Merchant’s Association declined to comment until plans are confirmed.