In a down economy, some businesses have to be creative to survive.

On Monday 24 singers, songwriters and comics flocked to Junction City's Butcher Block. They were there for the store's "Open Mic Night."

"We had to think outside the box, and being the new kids on the block we were open to trying new things. Open mic has been one of those things we decided to do to bring more traffic in," said Manager Kelly Mohr.

And, she says it is working. They've held an open mic night most Monday's this summer. She says because of them, business is booming.

"Our traffic has picked up a lot, we've built a lot, four months ago I had six employees, now I am up to 21," she said.

Singer Brittany Duffield, 23, helped Mohr come up with the concept.
She says she wanted the open mic night to do more than just help business.

"We're trying to bring all the creatives together, we kind of lost that in Peoria for a while and we want to revive that," she explained.

For J.D. Greving and his band "Memorial for a Dove" open mic gave them a place to perform all summer. It is something he says they didn't really have before.

"Yeah, probably no where, we would go down to the river and if anyone walked by and would listen," he said.

Open Mic Night hasn't just revived The Butcher Block's business, although it has helped. For the performers, it is bringing back a culture