Despite ‘so many unknowns,’ Redmond saw business growth boom during pandemic

(Update: Adding video, comments from new business owner)

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Kristy Barton describes opening up a new business as "scary."

To put her experience into context, Barton opened a business in Redmond in 2020, six months after the pandemic started.

"There were so many unknowns," Barton told NewsChannel 21 on Wednesday. Barton originally started her small leather goods store, Muddy Merch Co., in her garage in 2018. Two years later, she was in her first store.

“The fact that it was in the middle of the pandemic actually played to our advantage," Barton said. "It kind of took the pressure off for expectations.”

Barton was not the only business owner starting anew during the pandemic. Six businesses opened in downtown Redmond last year and six more have opened already this year.

"The growth has been mainly in the commercial core of the city's downtown, but the growth has been citywide," said Chuck Arnold said, the city's urban renewal manager.

There are 1,400 employers with 14,000 employees in the city, according to Arnold.

As to why the growth is happening, Arnold calls Redmond a "business-friendly city." The city provided grants and personal protection equipment to businesses during the pandemic to help stores stay open and bring new ones in.

Barton explained the difference of Redmond compared to other Central Oregon cities.

“It’s a little smaller, it’s a little slower pace than you would experience in like Bend, but a little quicker pace than you would experience in Prineville or Madras," she said. "I think it’s a little more intimate, so it’s not just about the goods and the services provided, but it actually feels relational.”

And it's not just businesses growing in Redmond, as the city is adding about 3,000 people a year, or eight new residents a day.