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Fruita Chamber: businesses losing foot traffic to Grand Junction; housing and worker retention hurting local economy
Summary
Kayla Howell, president of the Fruita Area Chamber of Commerce, told the Fruita City Council that local businesses are losing customers to Grand Junction, struggle to retain workers because of housing costs and want more year-round marketing and event support; the Chamber proposed grants, ADU support and a Shop Fruita campaign.
Kayla Howell, president and CEO of the Fruita Area Chamber of Commerce, told the Fruita City Council on May 19 that local businesses are concerned customers and employees are leaving town for Grand Junction and that housing affordability has become a direct business competitiveness issue. "Overall, residents and visitors are leaving Fruita to go spend money in Grand Junction," Howell said, citing the Chamber's recent membership feedback.
Howell said the Chamber collected a small sample in its recent outreach (18 Fruita/Loma respondents in 2025 and another seven in the latest outreach) and that respondents repeatedly cited four problems: foot traffic leaving for Grand Junction, difficulty hiring and retaining employees, rising property costs and taxes squeezing margins, and limited marketing/visibility for small and micro businesses. "Employees are citing that it's hard to find housing in Fruita," she said, linking retention problems to cost-of-living pressures.
The Chamber offered several ideas for city–business collaboration. Howell urged modest storefront and façade-improvement grants aimed at high-visibility return on investment, expanded support for accessory dwelling units (ADUs), duplexes and small multifamily infill, and a "Choose Fruita First" or "Shop Fruita" destination marketing effort that could include a city landing page and coordinated materials for short-term rentals. She also proposed winter indoor markets and a marketing/visibility workshop series targeted at microbusinesses.
Council members asked practical questions about implementation. Councillor Purser raised wayfinding and signage as a tool to bring visitors downtown; Howell said staff capacity limits at the Chamber constrain execution and asked the city and tourism board to consider partnerships. The council discussed using QR-code kiosks and a single downloadable flyer or landing page to give short-term rentals and visitors an easy way to find events and shopping options.
Howell said the Chamber is launching a member engagement team of board and ambassador volunteers to do face-to-face outreach to about 45 target businesses this summer to expand response rates and gather more detailed, geographically specific information.
Why it matters: Council members said they were aligned with the Chamber's concerns and suggested a workshop to discuss joint strategies and potential city support, indicating the issue will be considered further in upcoming workplans.
What to watch for: the Chamber's outreach and any city-sponsored marketing or façade grant pilot, and follow-up workshops the council requested where staff, the Chamber and business volunteers would explore concrete next steps.
