It’s been a rough year for some small businesses on Commercial Street in north Springfield.

But some business owners say there’s new hope in the New Year.

“It’s not like it used to be,” Corie Godspy.

“I think people still have that mindset of the Missouri Hotel, a lot of the homeless community. But it really has, in the past 5 to 10 years, it’s really on an upswing,” she said.

Teri Perry asked, “How could you not fall in love with it?”

She also owns the pub.

“I feel like the businesses here now are so attractive to people who haven’t seen us before because I hear a lot about that,” she said ... click here to read more