A small sign dangles from a wrought-iron post that is attached to a pillar on the West-facing side of the Merced Theatre.

It’s simple and easily overlooked, but the meaning of that little sign and the words etched into it is something that will have a lasting impact on downtown’s future.

May marks the one-year anniversary of the day a group of young-gun entreprenuers became the first tenants of the rennovated Merced Theatre retail spaces.

Forté Frozen Yogurt opened its doors and quickly ushered in a new era of business downtown. With enough spirit to put a junior high cheer squad to shame, Forté has served up some fresh ideas that have already changed the landscape on Main Street.

“The fact that Forté is identified as one of the first signs of change down here, is great,” says Forté owner Alexander Lu-Pon, who is a Bay Area native. “That people like what we represent ... that fills us with hope.”

As possibly the first business that freely admits they wouldn’t exist if not for the presence of UC Merced, they have mastered the art of marketing to students.

Their Facebook page is closing in on 2,000 “likes” and it doesn’t hurt to have some family on campus.

Lu-Pon’s sister, Tiny Lu-Pon, a student at UC Merced, is an active recruiter on campus. Their efforts have paid off with a string of successful weekly events like open mic on Thursdays, karaoke on Fridays and spoken word poetry on Tuesdays.

In a year, Forté has turned a block that had its lights out by 6 p.m. into a frequent hot spot for families and teens.

“We knew Merced would be ready for it,” says Alexander Lu-Pon. “We wanted to bring something the UC students and the community could experience at the same time.”

Their willingness to attract people to their modern downtown hangout by any means necessary has not always been without opposition. But Lu-Pon says it’s part of the process of bringing life back downtown.

“One of the biggest challenges is to remind people that downtown goes beyond K Street,” says Lu-Pon. We have to push the envelope a little bit and rattle some cages, but I know deep down that Merced is behind us.”

Lu-Pon says Forté is on speed dial with all the high schools and colleges and the business is just as much a fixture on those campuses as an army recruiter.

“It’s true, that without the UC Forté wouldn’t be here,” Lu-Pon says. “But they know us now, and now we are spending 80 percent of our enegry to market to the community.”

Forté’s reach has stretched to local farmers where they buy produce for their toppings counter. Jared Hines, owner of Jared’s Wooden Roses, uses Forté as a distribution point and team with downtown businesses to strategize future co-op opportunities.

“You expect there to be elements that make it challenging to be downtown,” says Lu-Pon. “But we were prepared to work at relationships and it has worked out.”

Forté has cups made out of corn husks and spoons out of potato skins — but the yogurt and assortment of toppings is what keeps everybody coming back for more.

The rotating flavors are as plain as vanilla and as exotic as pomegranate raspberry and it’s all sugar free.

“A year later we’ve learned a ton,” says Lu-Pon. “Merced is very much about being healthy, at least much more so than you would think.”

And Lu-Pon and Forté aren’t the only ones learning. Other businesses have quickly adapted to their brand of doing business. Even the city of Merced has a Facebook page.

Soon, there will be another sign hanging up next to theirs and before long, the signs will be everywhere.

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