And that beginning, said Mayor Charlie Smithgall, is what he and downtown business owners have waited for for decades: the chance to open shops, boutiques and eateries to hordes of tourists.

Seven days a week.

The Lancaster Quilt and Textile Museum, which will feature the world-renowned Esprit Quilt Collection, opens on Wednesday, March 31.

Museum officials expect to draw more than 55,000 people to downtown Lancaster this year.

And in hopes of drawing in museum-goers and their dollars, nearly two-dozen downtown merchants are taking a leap of faith and will open on Sundays beginning in April.

"It will bring a lot of people into downtown,'' said Smithgall.

Some downtown businesses already have Sunday hours. But for as long as anyone can remember, said the mayor, downtown has been a ghost town on what traditionally has been a day of rest.

The quilt museum is the wake-up call, said Smithgall.

"This is what we've been waiting for.'' The new museum, at 37 N. Market St., near Central Market, will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. It will be closed on major holidays.

"If we get a portion of what I suspect that museum will attract, I will be very happy,'' said Frank Thomas, who with his wife, Lola, owns the Bonsai Collection and Chestnut Hill boutiques in the Hager Arcade Mall.

"I think the new quilt museum will breathe some badly needed life into downtown.'' Peter Seibert, president of the Lancaster Cultural History Museum, which owns the Quilt and Textile Museum, applauded the business owners and said the decision to stay open Sundays will help the museum.

"I'm thrilled that everyone is joining us,'' Seibert said. "I think the tourists will realize "let's do downtown' on Sunday. There will be attractions, restaurants and stores open for tourists to enjoy.'' The museum's inaugural exhibition will feature approximately 40 quilts from the museum's collection of 82 quilts formerly owned by the Esprit Corporation. The Espris collection, regarded as the finest collection of Amish quilts known to exist, was acquired by the Heritage Center of Lancaster County in August, 2002. The Heritage Center has since changed its name to the Lancaster Cultural History Museum.

So, they've built it, but will they come? Yes, predicted Seibert. In droves.

The opening of the quilt museum coincides with the Quilter's Heritage Celebration at the Lancaster Host Resort & Conference Center on April 1 to 4. The event usually draws between 25,000 and 30,000 visitors.

Seibert said the inaugural event for the Quilter's Heritage Celebration is the opening of the quilt museum.

He said that if only half the visitors from the celebration tour the museum, he'll be well on the way toward meeting his attendance goals for the year.

Admission to the quilt museum will be $6 for adults and $4 for children ages 6 and older.

Seibert added that the museum has already "dropped'' more than $100,000 in a multi-year, nationwide advertising campaign to draw quilt enthusiasts here. The campaign includes ads in Better Homes and Gardens and several quilt magazines.

The Lancaster Cultural History Museum will also be open on Sundays and year-round. The cultural history museum previously was open only from April to December.

Seibert said he expects a 10- to 20-percent growth in the quilt museum's attendance in coming years.

"We're hoping for big things,'' said Steve Puffer, one of the owners of Zanzibar, a gift shop two doors down from the quilt museum.

"Anything that will bring that many people to my doorstep has to be a good thing,'' Puffer said, smiling.

Maybe so, said Tom Gillin. "But I can't clone myself.'' Gillin, owner of Gillin's Gourmet Market, said he's worried that being open all week will wear him -- and many of his fellow downtown business owners -- out. But, Gillin added, he'll be open and he'll make it work.

Center City Deli owner Steven Van Lenten agreed, but said he will not open his deli on Sundays.

"It is my day of rest,'' he said.

Jan Beitzer, executive director of the Lancaster Downtown Investment District, said business owners are going to have to hire more help to make this work.

"This is an economic generator. This creates jobs,'' said Beitzer.

The DID has been working to convince businesses to open on Sundays and to encourage them to think about increasing staff, said Beitzer.

A vibrant downtown, with shops, restaurants and museums open on Sundays, offers downtown Lancaster a unique opportunity, said Beitzer.

While the rest of the county tourism industry usually takes the day off, she predicted the city will soon be the place where visitors to the county spend their Sundays.

"We have a real opportunity to tap into that market,'' said Beitzer.

Below is a list of the downtown businesses, restaurants and museums that will be open on Sundays once the quilt museum is open. Several of the businesses already do operate on Sundays: Baubles and Beads, in the Hager Arcade, 25 W. King St.; Britain's Best, Hager Arcade; Bonsai Collection, Hager Arcade; Chestnut House, Hager Arcade; Irish Gypsy, Hager Arcade.

Details, 30 N. Queen St.; Heritage Center Museum Store, 7 W. King St.; Pappagallo, 28 W. Orange St.; Remember This, 320 N. Queen St.; the Pottery Works, 16 W. Orange St.; Troupe & Co. Fine Art Gallery, 112 N. Prince St.

Uptown Antiques, 350 N. Queen St.; Carr's Restaurant, 50 W. Grant St.; House of Pizza, 23 W. Chestnut St.; Isaac's Restaurant, 25 N. Queen St.; Lancaster Dispensing Co., 33-35 N. Market St.; Maxwell's Restaurant at the Ramada Brunswick Hotel, 151 N. Queen St.

Pressroom Restaurant, 26-28 W. King St.; Square One Coffee, 145 N. Duke St.; Subway, 106 W. Orange St.; The Purple Mug, 25 N. Prince St.; Wish You Were Here, 108 W. Orange St.

The Demuth Museum, 120 E. King St.; Lancaster Cultural History Museum, 5 W. King St.; Lancaster Museum of Art, 135 N. Lime St. blog comments powered by Disqus