Downtown Martinsville is Worth the Walk

Downtown Martinsville is Worth the Walk!

The historic red brick courthouse that sits at the heart of Downtown Martinsville is set to undergo an extensive renovation and restoration process in 2025 and 2026. As part of that process, there will be some traffic pattern changes in the downtown area. No one enjoys a construction zone, but this should be a relatively minor situation for those seeking to visit the Downtown Martinsville district for shopping, dining and entertainment. So, here's the scoop on exactly what's happening and a fun way to participate in supporting the many locally owned businesses that are located within the construction area.

Traffic Pattern Changes

Beginning in late July, Jefferson Street between Morgan and Washington Streets will be closed to traffic for approximately three to four weeks. Sidewalks will remain open throughout the project, and businesses along the street will remain accessible. Once the necessary utility work is complete, Jefferson Street will reopen to traffic. It will remain a one-way street for that block, as it is now, traveling south.

The remaining streets surrounding the Morgan County Courthouse will then also transition to one-way streets, from August through November of 2025. Main Street, like Jefferson Street, will travel south. Washington Street will travel east, and Morgan Street will travel west. These lane restrictions will only affect the single block of each street that surrounds the courthouse.

Free street parking will still be available throughout the downtown area, where it is still accessible, in addition to public parking options. If you're not familiar with parking in downtown Martinsville, or you'd just like a quick refresher, be sure to download our handy Where to Park Map to identify parking options before you arrive.

All streets are expected to be fully open to traffic by the end of November, just in time for holiday shopping!

Worth the Walk

Throughout the duration of this project, the Greater Martinsville Chamber of Commerce, the City of Martinsville and Visit Morgan County are partnering together to encourage residents and visitors alike to continue to support our locally owned downtown businesses in the area affected, because we know those businesses are definitely Worth the Walk! In fact, even with the lane restrictions, we're willing to bet that many times you'll end up walking a shorter distance to support a local shop or restaurant that you would by shopping a big box store! So, to encourage you to shop local over the next few months, we're launching a fun downtown passport program called Worth the Walk.

Here's how it works - pick up a passport at any participating downtown business or at the Visit Morgan County and Greater Martinsville Chamber of Commerce offices inside The Main Connection at 460 South Main Street. Then, go shopping! Any time you make a purchase downtown from a participating business, you'll get a stamp on your passport. Once you've collected five stamps (must be from five different businesses), simply turn in your card at a listed shop or restaurant, and you’ll be entered to win one of several $50 weekly prizes — and the Grand Prize, worth $500! We'll draw a winner each week, August through November. The last day of the promotion will be Small Business Saturday (Nov 29), after which we'll make sure we've collected all the entries and draw for our Grand Prize winner!

The best part? You can enter again and again, giving you more chances to win! Just grab a new passport card, collect five more stamps and play again! To be valid, each entry must have stamps from five separate businesses.

Participating Businesses

Downtown Martinsville is home to a wide variety of locally owned small businesses, ranging from the iconic 100+ year old Candy Kitchen to local eateries, boutiques, even a ceramics studio! You can literally find everything from clothing, accessories and jewelry to local farm products, and even archery supplies, all within the short walk around the square. Here's a list of more than 25 local businesses participating in this passport program (click on the business name to learn more about them!):

Awnie's Italian Cuisine 44 N. Main Street	The Barn Archery Pro Shop 75 W. Morgan Street
Berries & Ivy Country Store 28 North Main Street	Branch House Salon 60 W. Morgan Street, Suite 104
The Martinsville Candy Kitchen 46 North Main Street	Come 'N Git It Diner 96 N. Main Street
The Morgan County Correspondent 10 E. Morgan Street	DeLyn Jewelry 29 E. Washington Street
Fables & Fairy Tales 38 N. Main Street	Flowers by Dewey 90 W. Morgan Street
Gather Around BBQ 43 S. Main Street	Gillispies Cigar Bar 86 N. Main Street (2nd Floor)
The Glazed Gypsy Studio & Boutique 28 E. Morgan Street	Greek's Pizzeria & The Groggy Goat 10 E. Morgan Street
Hometown Nutrition 152 N. Main Street	Keller Office Supply & Printing 159 N. Main Street
Krypton Comics 77 E. Washington Street	The Local Grind 190 E. Morgan Street
Los Reyes Mexican Restaurant 10 N. Main Street	Main Street Grill 21 N. Jefferson Street
Martinsville Mercantile 188 E. Morgan Street	The Peddlers Loft Cafe 166 E. Morgan Street
The Sterling Butterfly 96 E. Morgan Street	Studio J2 Dance 154 N. Main Street
Super Sports 59 E. Washington Street	Sidney & Girlfriends Nails & Day Spa 30 E. Washington Street
Unapologetically Her Boutique 23 E. Washington Street	Urban Body 88 E. Morgan Street
Urban Brew 78 E. Morgan Street	Urban Market 78 N. Main Street
happy shopping!

*Winners will be notified via email and can pick up their prize at The Main Connection or arrange to have it mailed. All weekly winners will still be eligible for the Grand Prize drawing, along with all other entries. Entries will be collected from each location prior to each weekly drawing and a final collection will be made before the Grand Prize drawing.