Results from a survey conducted over the summer by the North Clintonville Development Task Force show respondents want to see a specialty grocery store come to the community.

In announcing the survey results, task force chairman Brett Warner said the study was done “as part of an effort to improve the businesses district along High Street between Morse Road and Worthington.”

The task force was created with a goal of improving the High Street business corridor using the city’s Clintonville Neighborhood Plan as a template.

“We know the area has potential and we want to make sure the neighborhood improves as a result of any changes instead of just hoping it all works out,” Warner said in the announcement. “It is a neighborhood that is clear about what it doesn’t want, but we wanted to find out what they do want.”

To that end, the group, established in the summer of 2010, created a neighborhood survey that asked the community what businesses were missing and how often they leave the neighborhood to patronize those businesses. The survey was posted on Facebook, and distributed on the back of the Sharon Heights Community Newsletter, and passed around from neighbor to neighbor.

A total of 105 surveys were completed and returned, Warner indicated.

“The greatest demand is for certain kinds of retail store,” he wrote.

Sixty-six of the 105 respondents said they'd like to see a specialty grocery store in the area. Of these, 44 said they leave the neighborhood weekly to visit this kind of business.

“This area seems ideal for something like a Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods,” committee member Ann Hilson said. “A store like that could draw from Worthington and the rest of Clintonville, too.”

Weekly trips outside the neighborhood were also common when it comes to restaurants, though the type of restaurant was a little less clear.

Some 27 people favored a casual, American-style restaurant while 23 preferred a cafe, 22 want an ethnic eatery and 21 voted for a bakery.

In the personal services category, there was a virtual tie between a physician’s office with 32 responses in favor, and a yoga studio, which garnered 33 responses.

“As you might expect for Clintonville, a gardening store (40 responses) and a bookstore (30 responses) also found support,” according to Warner. “The most common response was to leave the neighborhood monthly to visit these businesses.

“The survey helped us get a sense of what the neighborhood wants, and there is clearly support for the right kind of development," he said. "The next step is to reach out and find willing business partners and suitable properties.”

The North Clintonville Development Task Force is exploring a number of ideas to attract desirable businesses to the neighborhood, including the possibility of co-sponsoring a broker’s forum, he said.

The full survey results are available on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/North-Clintonville-Development-Task-Force/153374011362423.