For a generation, the story of plains retail was the hollowing of main street as big-box stores and online shopping drew the trade to the highway edge and beyond. But in the university towns, a countertrend has taken hold. A new generation of independent boutiques, coffee roasters, breweries and eateries has moved into the old storefronts, giving main street a second wind.

Small Shops, Second Wind

The college towns have advantages the farm towns lack — a steady stream of students and faculty, a taste for the local and the distinctive, and a walkable core worth strolling. Fictional shops like Broadway Provisions and Prairie Rose Books trade on exactly what the big boxes cannot offer: character, community and a proprietor who knows the customers by name.

From the almanac's reckoning:

• Independent shops have revived main streets in the university towns.
• A steady student population supports local retail and dining.
• Character and community are the small shop's edge over the big box.

It is a fragile revival, dependent on foot traffic and local loyalty, but a real one. The almanac counts the return of independent retail among the more cheerful chapters of the plains economy — a reminder that main street, given a reason, can still draw a crowd.