Once filled with boarded-up windows and empty storefronts, downtown Bellefontaine is now buzzing with life — restaurants, boutiques, chocolate shops and the chatter of community members and visitors alike. The town, once grappling with an 80% vacancy rate 15 years ago, now boasts 88% occupancy according to Small Nation, a company that specializes in revitalizing small towns through strategic placemaking and a passion for local identity. “What we're doing here now today in Bellefontaine is bringing other mayors, economic development professionals, leaders from other communities all around the state to come and experience and see all that downtown Bellefontaine has to offer, Jason Duff, Small Nation’s founder, said. For him, the mission is deeply personal. He grew up in nearby Indian Lake, where his mother ran a Hallmark shop in Bellefontaine. “I remember what it was like growing up in a small business,” he said. “Those were the people that were driving the giving —the Kiwanis Club, all the great things that were happening in community. And that's what I want to see — I want to see communities become stronger.” Duff says the revitalization began with food. “What people wanted was really good food,” he explained. “The base of the economic pyramid was bringing great, local food back to the neighborhood.” One of the first to take that leap was Brittany Saxton, who opened Six Hundred Downtown, a now-iconic pizzeria in the heart of Bellefontaine. “We were the only restaurant downtown when we came here 14 years ago,” Saxton said. “There were bricks and boards over windows... But we saw the momentum and believed in the vision.” Saxton said every Bellefontaine business owner works to help the next one succeed. The downtown area is now home to at least eight restaurants, a co-working space that transforms into a taqueria by night and a wine room born out of the need for a community gathering space. “It’s a constant ecosystem,” Saxton said. “We have lofts above the businesses, Airbnb’s bringing in new visitors and a strong sense of camaraderie among downtown entrepreneurs.”