The eyes of the world were on Wetumpka in 2021, thanks to the HGTV series “Home Town Takeover.” So what’s the city been up to since?
In late 2019, HGTV started searching for a small town to be transformed by popular renovation experts Ben and Erin Napier in “Home Town Takeover,” a spin-off of their hit HGTV show “Home Town.” The network invited cities with less than 40,000 residents to tell them why it should be the spot to star alongside the couple in the new show. They sifted through more than 500,000 videos representing 2,600 small towns and hit gold when they pressed “play” on the submission from Wetumpka.
On July 2, 2020, HGTV announced that Wetumpka (population 8,300) had been selected, and work on and filming of the multiple renovation and restoration projects (six residential, six commercial, plus several public spaces) began in early September. On May 2, 2021, the first of six “Home Town Takeover” episodes premiered. Each week’s installment was full of heart-warming project reveals that elicited squeals, gasps and tears from those directly benefitting from a renovation. But in reality, the entire region has reaped rewards.
Indelible Impact
Now, almost two years since the show aired, positive ripple effects of the initial impact—which rivaled that of the massive meteor strike in Wetumpka eons ago— continue. According to Shellie Whitfield, executive director of the Wetumpka Area Chamber of Commerce, in every way, the mark left by “Home Town Takeover” has exceeded expectations. “The show created powerful momentum far beyond what we could have ever imagined. Nearly every building in our downtown has been renovated, and new businesses are continuing to open,” she said. “For years, we have wanted people on their way to the beach to stop in Wetumpka, and now they are! The best part is that we are seeing people come and visit, enjoy themselves, and then come back again and again.”
Jeremy Hunt, owner of Provisions Cheese and Wine Shoppe, echoed Whitfield, noting he had to bring in members of his family to help keep up with demand at his business. “We opened in January 2021 with the goal of becoming Alabama’s largest cheese shop in the next few years. The show aired in May 2021, and by July, we were almost overwhelmed by the customers,” he said. “We had a ton of support from the local population, which continues today; however, the show brought a lot of people from around the country, even the world. That tourism boosted our growth much quicker than we anticipated, and we reached our goal by September 2021.”
The boost actually began while the show was in production, due to a big uptick in visitors hoping to get a peek behind the scenes (and a glimpse of the Napiers), and the resulting boom for area businesses was particularly helpful during the pandemic, according to Lynn Weldon, the City of Wetumpka’s Economic Development and Tourism Director. “Through the process of filming and the show airing, Wetumpka experienced a tremendous surge in tourism. People came from all over the world to visit and experience what Ben and Erin Napier have done to this small town,” she said.
She pointed to sales growth and increased revenues throughout the city’s business community. “Our restaurants had tremendous wait times, sometimes not a good thing, but we welcomed it,” she says. The rise in tourism also led to a need for more accommodations, and the city encouraged a private developer to switch its remake of a 1950s-era corner building in downtown Wetumpka from apartments to short-term rental units. It did, and The Lofts at Bridge and Hill hosted its first guests in October 2022.
Donna Grier, who opened her Company Street Mercantile just last year on the downtown thoroughfare that was given a facelift during “Home Town Takeover,” believes the effects will prove long lasting, thanks to efforts of city leadership, residents and individual business owners. “Because we opened in 2022, we didn’t experience the buzz that 2021 brought,” Grier said. “However, the excitement is still there, and we are bustling with visitors. ‘Home Town’ has quite a following, and its fans plan road trips to both Laurel [Mississippi] and Wetumpka because of the geographical proximity of the cities.” Hunt agreed. “While the initial surge of tourism has trickled off, there are still people who come through town because of the show. Overall, I feel that our sales have been higher than initially expected because of the show,” he said.
Weldon is grateful for short lulls but outlined the city’s commitment to keeping the stream of visitors flowing. “It comes in waves, and that gives us time to catch our breath,” she said. “When the show airs in a different zone or runs again on another channel, it starts all over again. We hope it never ends.”
Sustaining Success
As such, the city has made it a priority to engage the public and share Wetumpka’s stories to extend the original benefits the show brought. “We have worked with Main Street Wetumpka and the Wetumpka Area Chamber of Commerce to build on our already amazing events, such as Christmas on the Coosa, Downtown Dickens Christmas, River and Blues Music and Arts Festival, Downtown Candy Crawl and Galentine’s,” Weldon said. “We’ve also started or supported new events like Oktoberfest Wetumpka and Wild About Art.” And she teased that this year will yield new exciting additions in the city. The Chamber is doing its part, too, coordinating trips to Wetumpka for groups and using local volunteers as a welcome wagon to meet arriving buses and even guided tours.
Hunt praised the city’s efforts, calling the emphasis on events the single greatest thing leaders can do to sustain the momentum. But he did note an area of possible improvement. “One of the few recurring complaints I have heard concerns the lack of parking in the downtown area,” he said. “I feel that a paved public parking area and maybe a rideshare program could help.”
Whitfield pointed to other cities’ interest in Wetumpka’s success as further evidence of the huge win “Home Town Takeover” was. “We are watching the small towns around us revitalize and paint murals, and we are cheering them on! I do a lot of public speaking across the United States regarding small-town revitalization, and my advice is that towns need to know who they are as a community,” she said. “Focusing on the things that make them unique and set them apart from other communities is the best way to encourage tourism. If every town looks the same, there is no reason for anyone to travel.”
“Wetumpka’s experience with the HGTV’s ‘Home Town Takeover’ provided positive exposure for Millbrook as well. Producers did a show follow-up and wanted to include a segment on how neighboring towns had been inspired and impacted,” said Ann Harper, the City of Millbrook’s Economic Development Director. ”They did a profile piece on a Millbrook donut shop, Kingdom Dough, where the owners transformed their storefront to give it more appeal.”
The City also got in on the action, adding landscaping and hanging baskets at the city’s main park, and commissioning its first public mural painted by Montgomery’s Kevin King. This project led to the establishment of Millbrook’s Mural Grant Program, which encourages local businesses to tell a story with art and at the same time enhance the exterior of their buildings. “I’m happy to report that two murals have been completed with two more in the works,” Harper said. “HGTV has a huge following around the world, and these followers like to visit the locations featured. We’ve certainly seen more visitors in our community.”
In the “Home Town Takeover” finale, Erin Napier delivered a closing line with obvious emotion: “I’m so proud of this town and what it is, and what I think it’s gonna be.” Grier shared a similar sentiment when she spoke of what she’s doing to help keep the energy going. “We are actively involved in the community, especially our Chamber of Commerce and Main Street Wetumpka. It takes a passion for community,” she said. And she claims the show simply shared what residents have always known about their hometown. “It’s an absolute gem. From the Coosa River to Fort Toulouse and now a vibrant downtown, we have so much to offer,” she said.
\”When the show airs in a different zone or runs again on another channel, it starts all over again. We hope it never ends.\”
– Lynn Weldon, City of Wetumpka’s Economic Development and Tourism Director
Inside Provisions Cheese and Wine Shoppe
- LOCATION: Downtown Wetumpka
- OPENED: January 2021
- SELLING: More than 100 cheese varieties and more than 250 wines. You can also “sip and shop,” enjoying wines by the glass and other products. And on Thursdays through Saturdays, you can indulge in their full cheese boards made on site and also available to go.
Inside the Wetumpka Farmers Market
- LOCATION: Downtown Wetumpka
- OPENED: 2021
- SELLING: In a new pavilion constructed as one of the “Home Town Takeover” projects and resting on a bluff above the Coosa River, the Wetumpka Farmers Market houses area farmers and food producers selling a variety of tasty goods like seasonal fruits and veggies, baked treats, pickles, jams, gourmet dishes and much more.
Inside Company Street Mercantile
- LOCATION: Downtown Wetumpka
- OPENED: March 2022
- SELLING: Unique gifts and home goods, many made locally or in other areas of the South.
- WE LOVE: The wide selection of Southern sauces and snacks.
Donna Grier opened “The Merc” in March 2022 after being a stay-at-home mom for 17 years, realizing her long-held dream of owning and operating a general store. The international spotlight that’s still beaming on Wetumpka thanks to “Home Town Takeover” has spurred several new businesses to open since it aired. For anyone considering joining this club, Grier offered some advice. “Be involved and have a love of Wetumpka. I tell people all the time that some days I feel like a tour guide. I’ve been here my entire life, so when I share stories of riding my bike on Company Street as a kid, to a tourist, that’s the kind of thing that brings them to Wetumpka,” she said. “Sure, they want to see a vibrant downtown area. But they also want to talk to the shop owners and really LEARN about our city and the history of it.”
