Not everyone minds the noise, though. It's so close to downtown, and yet it's a real neighborhood. I know all the merchants, all my neighbors. There's a great mix of people. You have a store like Almonte's that's been there for 67 years where you can buy socks for a dollar, and Sikar, where you get a young, hip crowd.
People really take care of each other.
Denise at Bradford Variety will look out for people if they seem to be in trouble. Everybody knows the regulars. The noise level is high sometimes, says Van Antwerp, but she enjoys the street show. It's only around the time that the bars let out that it's really noisy. You can overhear some very entertaining conversations when the windows are open in the summertime.