The changing tastes of tourists are prompting Maggie Valley to redefine its 1960s character, hopefully corralling the rows of motels, restaurants and gift shops strung out along the roadside into a new downtown identity the town lacks.

The commercial hodgepodge that permeates the town today is not the most conducive for a town defined almost solely by tourism. Instead, town officials envision a defined downtown where people can walk to shops, restaurants and entertainment; and buildings made of wood and stone that blend in with the towering Smokies.

Some say this sort of change has been a long time coming.

“Not only have people changed from the 1960s era motel life, but their needs and interests have changed,” says Tom Benoit, a planning board member. “That’s why I think it’s important that Maggie get away from that idea of going to an individual shop and getting back in your car. It didn’t matter then, gas was cheap. But we want to turn it into a destination to spend a few days and not get in your car.”

Maggie’s failure to keep up with the times has hurt its tourism business, says planning board member Burton Edwards.

“You don’t stand still — you grow or you die,” he says. “Maggie Valley has just about become stagnant.”

A true downtown

The first step in revamping the Valley is creating a unified downtown area, which the town has always lacked. According to Maggie Valley’s land-use plan, crafted in 2007, the “downtown” district stretches from Moody Farm Road to the end of the valley, below Ghost Town.

Tourists driving through that 2.3-mile stretch, however, likely wouldn’t make that distinction.

To create a downtown feel, town officials want to limit the types of enterprises that can develop along this stretch in the future. For years, the general commercial zoning designation allowed almost anything — car washes, pawn shops, manufactured home sales, and sheet metal supply warehouses are some of the permitted uses in the commercial district, which helps to explain the town’s haphazard appearance.

Those uses will be outlawed under a proposed Community Attraction Zone designation. Instead, the district will encompass art galleries, retail establishments, parks and restaurants — things the town planning board agreed represent an ideal downtown area in a public workshop held in October.

By clustering downtown attractions in a specific area, the town hopes to make them more accessible by foot.

“What we anticipate is someone would drive in to Maggie Valley from wherever they’re coming from, and we’d encourage them to park their car, get out, tour a couple of gift shops, have lunch, dinner and coffee — basically make it a destination by tying it all together,” says planning board member Tom Benoit. “Right now, there are a few hot spots you can see on any weekend, but not nearly enough of a connection.”

Business owner Brenda O’Keefe, who runs the popular Joey’s Pancake House restaurant, sees plenty of advantages in having a typical, defined downtown with things like restaurants and a theater. For one, it would cause people to stop and explore rather than speeding on to another mountain community, she says. It would also encourage businesses to keep their stores looking nice.

“It’s hard to legislate taste, but for me, a downtown area would give people a sense of keeping things in better repair,” O’Keefe says.

Some are skeptical that Maggie Valley’s geography will allow it to have a downtown. The town runs in an eight-mile line along either side of a five-lane highway. It lacks a traditional Main Street, like that in Waynesville or Sylva.

Robert Jones, who moved to the Valley from Arizona, says the town simply wasn’t set up like that. He doubts the feasibility of a downtown area and said the town is desirable exactly as it is today.

Bob Knoedler, a planning board member, agrees the creation of a downtown is a challenge.

“The fact is that basically our downtown is (U.S.) 19, and we don’t have the quaintness of small streets and shops,” he said.

But Knoedler is optimistic that it can be done, albeit with some creativity. He says a downtown will have to be carved out of either side of U.S. 19/23.

Also, “we have to be creative on the architectural side and site planning side,” he says. “We don’t have a true downtown such as Waynesville has, but I think things can be done.”

Hopes to boost tourism, business

A downtown district and nice looking buildings may be good ideas, but they don’t directly solve the problem of drawing businesses, and in turn tourists, to the Valley.

In recent years, the town has lost entertainment facilities such as a go-cart track and zoo. Even the re-opening of the Ghost Town in the Sky amusement park has failed to draw the flood of businesses it once did.

“Maggie Valley is a beautiful place and I know people come here,” says Edwards. “The problem is, we can’t keep them. Now they come and stay one night and go to Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge. We’ve got to find ways to keep them.”

Though the land-use plan may not provide a be-all, end-all fix, officials hope that it’s a step. If tourists are drawn to the attractive nature of the town, businesses may not be far behind — and vice versa. The ultimate goal: to get enough business in town to attract prized multi-day visits from tourists.

“I think carving out a part in the center of town will hopefully be more conducive to people visiting to stay a couple of days or more,” says Knoedler. “(That would) help really pump up the local economy in terms of restaurants and hoteliers.”

Tourism has always been crucial to Maggie, and town officials hope a few tweaks will help it retain its stronghold status.

“Maggie Valley made itself the way it is today, but there’s room for improvements over the next 10 to 15 years,” says Colin Edwards, a town alderman. “I’ve lived in Maggie all my life. Things can be done to make it a lot better.”

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