MIDDLEBORO _ “I didn’t know you were here.’’

That’s a comment Sandy Cronin, a member of the Middleboro Downtown Merchants Association, said she hears almost every day from people who wander into her shop.

She wants to change that. 

Her business, Rekindled Home, transforms vintage furniture pieces into new designs. “I’ll take your grandmother’s china cabinet and turn it into a coffee bar,’’ she said of the business she co-owns with Suzy Clasby. 

She wants to draw more customers not only to her shop but to the array of downtown businesses, she said. The key, she said, is to “make people aware.’’

“I want to bring awareness to the fact that there are a ton of great businesses in downtown Middleboro,’’ Cronin said.

That is what a new effort spearheaded by the Middleboro Office of Economic and Community Development hopes to accomplish.

The first step is the introduction of a new logo for downtown shops, which will officially be unveiled Friday, Oct. 7 during First Friday. This event is hosted by the Middleboro Downtown Merchants Association and is held downtown on the first Friday of each month. 

The new logo, which was designed in collaboration with ChandlerThinks, a group of marketing specialists that help communities best promote their locations, depicts a vintage lantern and includes wording that reflects the historic nature of the downtown.

The brand is one “the community can rally around to support and activate its Historic Downtown,’’ said Zannah Noe, Communications, Outreach and Engagement Specialist for the Middleboro Office of Economic and Community Development.

Other goals cited by ChandlerThinks includes improved signage so people can know where businesses are located; activating windows, possibly with performance arts; showcasing vacant storefronts to potential business and attracting more restaurants, stores and arts and culture features.

First Fridays are one way the Downtown Merchants Association hopes to remind people of the offerings downtown and draw customers who might not be able to check out the stores during the day.  On First Fridays, downtown businesses open until 9 p.m.

On the next First Friday, on Oct. 7, visitors to the Bridge Church, 31 Center St., can view the logo and learn more about the goal of drawing more people to the downtown

Previous First Fridays have featured special events, Cronin said.

These have included a scavenger hunt, when children have to find an item at each participating store and bring them together at a final destination to win a prize. 

This ensures that people will visit a number of stores, another effort to create awareness, Cronin said.

During a recent First Friday, up-and-coming bands have performed, which brought in younger people. “The street was hopping,’’ Cronin said. 

She hopes that audience will return downtown, she said, because “we need to draw a younger crowd,’’ she said. She said she would love to attract offerings such as a brewery and eatery with vegan options.

Cronin encouraged people to not only to check out the logo at the next First Friday but to also sample the attractions that downtown provides by making a night of it.

“They can go out to eat, maybe have a drink, shop local, they don’t have to pay for parking and they can be home in 10 minutes,’’ she said.