In downtown Royal Oak empty storefronts are being replaced by new shops and restaurants

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (WXYZ) - In downtown Royal Oak empty storefronts are being replaced by new businesses and people are taking notice. It may be a sign of changing times.

“We actually just left dinner and noticed couple of new stores coming in and restaurants,” said David Simpson, a Royal Oak resident.

In a space of just two blocks there is a new burger joint, a new Lebanese restaurant, a new bakery, and a new boutique shop for women.

“There’s a lot of newcomers coming to the area as far as business down here. We just opened up this new location across from our other store Pink Pump. People are still shopping,” said Tamia Harrison, who is the manager of P2 on Main Street.

And as the business environment downtown improves, officials are noticing an overall improvement for the city’s economic outlook. Royal Oak City Commissioner Jim Rasor is optimistic even though many challenges remain.

“We’re not out of the woods yet. We still have a lot of challenges in the budget but it’s not as bad as it was a year and a half ago,” Rasor told Action News.

Rasor said he’s also encouraged by new numbers that show some of the dire budget predictions for Royal Oak have not come to fruition.

City Commissioners are still staring at a lot of red ink. Like almost everywhere else across the metro area property values are down and the city took a hit in the census, losing more than 4.5% of its population since 2000.