-Downtown DeKalb remains largely a ghost town when compared to Sycamore Road.

The deck is stacked against the businesses downtown. Sycamore Road can offer shoppers a variety of products at low prices, all within a small area. The stores are easy to get to by bus, and there is plenty of parking for cars. Sales are often and well-publicized, drawing people from DeKalb and the surrounding area.

Downtown is crowded, despite the empty storefronts. Tenants park in the spaces that shoppers need. The trains crash by in the background, adding to the sounds of traffic. At peak traffic hours, the smell of exhaust permeates the air. When the one bus does roll through Main Street, it is gone before it even arrives, leaving only a trail of brackish smoke and the reverberating sounds of its muffler.

“There’s a lot of noise pollution,” said Matthew Clark, general manager of The House, 263 E. Lincoln Highway.

Through all the hardships business owners struggle to compete with the chains, there is only the historical façade of downtown and one lone spokeswoman on their side. How can they be expected to survive? What can they offer that will seduce DeKalb’s buying public back to their neighborhood?

“We need an aggressive campaign to bring people back downtown,” said Tracy Pierce of Northlander, 209 E. Lincoln Highway.

The businesses downtown cannot expect to compete on the same level as Sycamore Road businesses when it comes to the advertising dollar.

“Advertising is just too expensive,” said Mark Hedborn of the Book Muse Book Store, 132 E. Lincoln Highway.

Downtown has to rely on foot traffic and word-of-mouth to bring the public back to its side. And to get that foot traffic, it needs quality events that draw people down and create enough of a stir to bring new people down and the old visitors back.

-“Corn Fest and the other events do draw people down, but they don’t often come back,” Hedborn said.

There needs to be consistent events downtown to catch students’ interest again in shopping at downtown’s businesses, said Rhonda Thomas of Fleur Furnishings and Boutique, 251 E. Lincoln Highway.

The inclusion of music into the downtown community may be the point that it can cling to and pull itself back up.

But critics may argue that there’s already music at Otto’s Niteclub, 118 E. Lincoln Highway, and The House.

“We hold events — like the Grasslands Quintet the other night — and only five people show up. Why is that?” Clark said.

The events at The House and Otto’s do draw people out but not consistently. In an effort to provide variety, these venues have sacrificed finding a loyal fan base. Without people knowing that a venue consistently has bands that they will like, they are less likely to closely follow a club’s events. The low turnout at events also prevents these venues from finding the advertising dollars they need to bring people in.

“See these signs in the window?” Clark asked. “Sometimes that’s all we can do for bands that are playing here. These low dollars dedicated to advertising shows leaves the responsibility in the hands of the performers, which is especially hard for performers from out of town.”

DeKalb is not short on musicians — boasting well over 30 local bands — and is not short on fans, drawing people out to shows all over town on any given weekend. The object is to bring these bands and their fans downtown.

“I am very thankful that downtown DeKalb does have places that are even willing to have shows and are more or less open to booking a wide variety of music,” said Mark Nichols, who books locally for Scratch and Sniff Records and has brought bands from Boston to Portland to DeKalb. “It’s just better to be able to have some say as to the manner in which something is presented, and you can’t always do that with any given establishment.”

A local arts cooperative, where groups can plan their own events, could provide the venue that would draw people back downtown. It would open up shows to those who aren’t old enough to go to Otto’s and draw in artists who don’t feel comfortable playing in restaurants or bars.

“I would be happy to help any group who wants to take it on,” said Jennifer Groce, executive director of Main Street DeKalb. “But I’m only one person, and it would take a group of volunteers.”

The businesses downtown would not directly benefit from such a venue, though. Patrons would be downtown, but not until after business hours.

“What about a flea market?” Hedborn suggested.

-Downtown needs events that would bring in even patrons who are on a strapped budget. Those people would hopefully be inclined to stay for evening entertainment downtown, at The House, Otto’s or the Egyptian Theatre, 135 N. Second St.

With consistent events that cater to the whole community both during afternoons and evenings, people may spend their time before and after events patronizing downtown businesses and restaurants.

“Events that are beneficial to some businesses would not be beneficial to all,” Groce said, citing parking issues that would arise from such outdoor events. “We’re working with limited space.”

With additional public transportation suggested by Main Street DeKalb with trolleys now catching the ear of public officials, some parking issues could be relieved.

“Parking permits for downtown tenants could relieve some issues,” Clark said.

Requiring downtown residents to park away from the spaces used by businesses could be one alternative. With the complexity of parking issues, a push for the use of public transportation could be the best bet. Trolleys would serve the needs of the city well while complementing the façade of downtown’s storefronts.

Businesses need to work together, Clark said.

“We need to work together with Main Street,” Thomas said.

The salvation of downtown DeKalb rests largely in the hands of community members who are dedicated to the preservation of downtown. The way to attract patrons back to downtown’s businesses is through a partnership between downtown business owners, Main Street DeKalb and the local arts community.

“I am always willing to talk to people who have ideas about helping downtown,” Groce said, adding that she will support any groups that could be beneficial for downtown.