Raising the Bar’s Bill Pezza held an in-depth discussion about his book, ‘How Bristol Won’
By Samantha Bambino
The Times
It’s safe to say 2017 was one heck of a year for Bristol Borough. It achieved national recognition by winning the Small Business Revolution, which triggered a complete rejuvenation of the town. But now we’re in 2018 and for Bill Pezza, that means one thing — a chance to keep raising the bar.
In an intimate discussion held at the Margaret R. Grundy Library last Monday evening, Pezza, who serves as president of the community organization Raising the Bar, went in-depth about his most recent book How Bristol Won: And Will Keep On Winning.
As its title suggests, the nonfiction novel chronicles the exciting time span both before and during the Small Business Revolution contest, but also what the future holds for Bristol.
How Bristol Won begins by transporting the reader back to 2012 when the borough’s commercial district was virtually nonexistent. Pezza reflected on how he and his wife, Karen, would walk down a depressing Mill Street, which boasted countless vacant shops and windows covered in newspapers.
The husband-wife duo took it upon themselves to visit shop owners, offering to replace the newspapers with scenic photos of the town. It was a drop in the ocean as far as improvements went, but it was a start. Next, they wrote a detailed economic plan for what would soon become the beloved structure on the corner of Mill Street and Old Route 13.
“It was a symbolic entrance not only to Mill Street, but our future,” Pezza said.
More than $40,000 worth of engraved bricks were sold to help fund the project, which told Pezza the community was hungry for a change. Thus, Raising the Bar was formed. It was and continues to be a free organization open to residents of all ages looking to make a difference. The only criteria? Keep it positive. According to Pezza, “Boo birds need not apply.”
After it was created, Raising the Bar hit the ground running to make Bristol the next great tourist spot. The only question was, what would tourists do once they arrived? The answer lied in unique experiences they couldn’t find elsewhere.
It was at this time that the old, abandoned shoe store building on Mill Street was transformed into the Centre for the Arts thanks to a generous loan from a Raising the Bar board member. By the end of the first night, the entire gallery space was booked by local artists, and it has since won numerous awards.
Bristol was on a roll, and Pezza was determined to keep that momentum going. When he learned Robert Herjavec wanted to give $500,000 to a deserving town, he knew it would be the push they needed. More than 100 residents submitted narratives explaining why Bristol should be chosen, which landed the borough on the shortlist of towns to be visited by Small Business Revolution representatives.
Unfortunately, Bristol was one of the last areas they’d be traveling to. Pezza compared his mindset at this time to a contestant on The Bachelor. He wasn’t about to sit back while other towns impressed the SBR folks. To get their attention, the “Pick Us” campaign was developed. While SBR visited other towns, they were flooded with videos of Bristolians shouting “pick us, pick us!”
“By the time they got here, we felt like we really knew each other,” Pezza laughed.
Approximately 1 million votes were cast throughout the duration of the competition. Needless to say, Bristol received the majority. Six local businesses were completely transformed, receiving website overhauls and revamped marketing strategies to help attract a larger clientele.
Though the Small Business Revolution experience was certainly an exciting time that helped Bristol show the country all it has to offer, Pezza stressed the importance of not living in the past.
“It was a great year but we still need to look to the future,” he said.
This year, Raising the Bar has mapped out four key initiatives to keep the borough in a continuous state of improvement. The first, which recently took place, was the launch of visitbristolborough.com, a one-stop shop to discover community events, productions, shops and restaurants throughout Bristol. The slogan “come for the history, stay for the fun” welcomes guests the instant they visit the site.
Next on the agenda for 2018 is the purchase of a tram, which would transport visitors from the parking lot to various restaurants, shops and the Bristol Riverside Theatre. According to Pezza, the tram would be a free service aimed at helping people conveniently get where they need to go. The goal is to paint it bright colors and have microphone-equipped volunteer drivers provide background information on the sights they pass. The tram will be paid for using $10,000 in grant money awarded by Visit Bucks County plus a matching grant.
“People will see we’re no longer a sleepy, stagnant town,” he said.
The third project will be what Pezza called a “Commercial District Property Use Inventory.” Members of Raising the Bar will take a look at the remaining vacancies along Mill Street and work to recruit specialty businesses currently lacking in the area. Four years ago, according to Pezza, 28 percent of the stores were vacant. Today, that number has decreased to 10 percent, with a portion of those spaces already purchased.
Finally, Pezza was proud to announce the formation of the first Bristol Borough Restaurant Association, a group of local eatery owners determined to make the town the next go-to dining destination. Rather than have people say “Let’s go to Manayunk,” they’ll say “Let’s go to Bristol.” ••
Samantha Bambino can be reached at [email protected]
