Downtown Flagstaff has changed a lot in recent years. A slew of new restaurants and shops have opened along historic Route 66 as the student population at Northern Arizona State University has boomed, making rents go up sharply.
But all of that development hasn’t spelled success for everyone there.
At the beginning of this year — after a particularly dry winter that brought fewer tourists to the normally snowy mountain town — several businesses have closed their doors.
Two of the downtown Flagstaff businesses that have just closed are Pasto Cucina Italiano and Mountain Oasis International Restaurant, which have both been in businesses for decades and are right on Flagstaff's historic Heritage Square. Some are saying it’s a sign of a downward slump for downtown Flagstaff while others are saying it’s just the normal turnover we always see in business.
Corina Vanek has been covering the changes in Flagstaff for the Arizona Daily Sun.
