A shop merchant in downtown Dawsonville has plans to band together with other businesses in the downtown historic district in order to boost sales for the area.

With a monthly gathering of more than 20 business owners, Tina Everett hopes to bring the historic district “back to its original luster.”

Everett, who owns Georgia Mountain Candle Company, said the idea emerged in talks with fellow downtown business owner Gordon Pirkle.

“Me and Gordon, we were talking. We wanted to get people up this way from the corn mazes and from Amicalola Falls,” Everett said. “We decided to get some more traffic here in downtown to boost our economy instead of all the traffic at [Hwy.] 400.”

City Councilman James Grogan said he supported the idea.

“It’s a great move,” Grogan said. “Our downtown businesses ought to unite and do whatever they can to encourage people to shop right here in Dawsonville.”

Everett said it’s a prime opportunity.

“We have a lot of tourists in this area who love this town,” she said. “They love going through the shops, they love eating the food and they love the local history.”

The group met for the first time Aug. 31, and organizers plan to meet again at 6:15 p.m. Sept. 14 at city hall.

For more information, contact Everett at (706) 708-6286.