BY TIM BROUK PHOTOS BY TIM BROUK & PROVIDED
60 GREATER LAFAYETTE MAGAZINE
or dozens of downtown businesses, it’s more about cooperation than competition, collaboration instead of contention. In an effort to organize and unite while having fun and making good business, Nolan Willhite and Troy Weber, owners of Flora Candle Company, 609 Main St.; and Gabby Mathias, owner of Dawson & Daisy Boutique, 309 Columbia St., initiated a monthly, themed showcase of downtown Lafayette shops, cafes and restaurants. Since April, Shop765 events have occurred monthly from 4-9 p.m. on a Friday. Willhite says the goal of Shop765
is to elevate all downtown businesses. The themes help grab attention on a bustling Friday night. The August theme carried a Purdue University “Boiler Up Downtown” theme, while July had a “TGIF” 1990s nostalgia theme. Each month the events have grown in terms of customers and participating businesses. The first event, an “April Showers” spa theme, saw 15 businesses promote those Shop765 deals — special items, sales and giveaways. A few months later, as many as 25 downtown businesses got in on the action. “We’re always trying to improve our downtown and look at what
