Downtown Smithfield using music, community spirit to fight coronavirus

By Randy Capps

The coronavirus pandemic has written a new normal for people all over the world, and Johnston County is no exception.

A typical weekday lunch hour in Downtown Smithfield would feature the hustle and bustle of people coming and going from the courthouse, shuffling in and out of town hall or perhaps doing a little shopping on Third Street.

Of course, none of that was happening on a recent Tuesday afternoon. Simple Twist, The Diner, Sami’s and the other downtown restaurants were filling take out orders, but otherwise it was oddly quiet, thanks to the governor’s recent orders designed to slow the spread of the virus.

But this new normal came with a bright side.

A young woman stood on the corner of Market and Third Streets, filling the air with music. Elle Stephens, strumming away on her guitar, was doing her best to sing the streets back to life. Or, at the very least, show a glimmer of hope to anyone within earshot.

She was there to support the local restaurants, but there was a little something in it for the Clayton native as well.

“Playing,” she said. “I love sharing my music with people. I’ve got a lot of original songs that I play. It’s fun. I just got into it in August. I’ve been writing and singing for a while, but I’ve just started playing locally.”

While her usual venues, places like bars and restaurants, are unavailable, any chance to perform is one worth taking.

“(I’d have to) Write music in my room,” she said, with a laugh. “One of my friends is still working, and she plays around, and that’s what we do when she gets home. ‘Let’s just play music, because there’s nothing else to do.’ It’s making us feel better. Giving us something to do. An outlet.”

Promoting Downtown Smithfield is not only Sarah Edwards’ passion, it’s her job. As Executive Director of the Downtown Smithfield Development Corporation, she’s tasked with promoting the businesses there. It’s a demanding mission even in the best of times, but it’s one she believes in.

Tammie Sperry, from Designs Down to a T, painted the windows at O’Meara Realty Group. They are in support of small businesses, Easter and a bear for the bear hunt.

Elle Stephens performs on the corner of Market and Third streets in Smithfield.

The staff of Simple Twist pose for a photo.

Musicians like Stephens and Proton Jones, playing on the street, is just one of the ways she’s trying to bolster the local establishments.

“We’re just working to do whatever we can to support the local businesses,” she said. “That idea was actually brought to me by Chris Johnson, the former director of the DSDC and the county’s economic development director. He just said, ‘hey, wouldn’t it be neat if we did this?’ We owned some speakers and a soundboard and just kind of started putting some feelers out there.”

It’s easy to get caught up in the doom and gloom of the situation, but Edwards is focusing on the positives.

“I’ll be quite honest. I haven’t really turned on the news very much,” she said. “I think it’s very easy to hear all of the panic and all of the negative and let that be the dominate force in the conversation.”

Instead, she’s inspired by how her friends and neighbors are coping.

“I think a lot of it is just seeing what the business owners are doing to adapt,” she said. “Essentially adapt to survive is what somebody told me recently. I was talking to somebody the other day who was saying that, back in 2008 during the recession, I don’t know if we had the same understanding of how important it was to support locally-owned businesses. That’s been nice to see. It’s something we’ve been working on for years, kind of continuously reiterating how important that is.

“That’s been a big part of it for me. Seeing just how willing people are to put their money where their heart is.”

That isn’t limited to the business owners, either.

“A gentleman at SoDoSoPa the other day had a Facebook Live concert, a musician named Nathan Sheppard,” Edwards said. “He took the donations that he received and gave them to a waitress there as a tip. She went home with $235 that day.”

Edwards believes that an all-for-one spirit is exactly what we need to pull through this crisis.

“I think the movement that we’re promoting is do what you can to keep Smithfield strong,” she said. “Whether that’s visiting businesses and shopping with them in person... Online, we have businesses doing curbside pickup and drop off. Obviously, the restaurants are doing delivery in some cases, prepared meals and takeout. Buying gift cards for future use — just doing what you can. The small businesses in the community are constantly giving back. You look at any fundraiser, it’s the small businesses that have donated to silent auctions or stepping up as sponsors. They’re so crucially important.”

All that, while giving midday diners a musical treat.

“It’s been a fun addition, and it’s something we’d like to do more of after this is all over,” she said.