Dave Boulter looked at the uneven sidewalks and poor lighting outside his cafe on Eighth Street and decided it was time for a makeover.

After talking with other business owners in the area, Boulter, owner of Henry’s, 11 E. Eighth St., realized he wasn’t the only one who was dissatisfied.

More than a dozen downtown businesses are having weekly meetings to improve the Eighth Street area. Their tentative name is the Eighth Street Alliance.

They realized that together they had a better chance of bringing more customers to the area, fixing sidewalks and improving the street lighting.

“The idea is to help each other, help people come to the area, and express all our concerns,” said Jessica Belmont, owner of Miko, 13 E. Eighth St.

The alliance includes businesses from the adjacent blocks of New Hampshire Street.

Belmont said the main goal was to attract more customers.

The help is needed, said Curtis McCoy, a musician who spends time on Eighth Street.

He said a lot of people didn’t know that Henry’s had an upstairs because of a lack of advertising.

“A lot of people go to Henry’s downstairs, and they don’t even know that there’s a bar upstairs,” McCoy said.

On April 3, the alliance began offering special attractions in conjunction with the area’s Saturday Gallery Walk, which is from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. the first Saturday of each month.

Teller’s, 746 Mass., will have a brunch, and Henry’s will have art on display in its upstairs bar and downstairs coffeehouse.

Joel Bales, co-owner of ad astra galleria, is offering his gallery as one of the venues.

Jeff Singer, owner of EightOneFive Cafe & Nightclub, 815 N.H., offered his weekly ad space in the University Daily Kansan to promote the event. He said artists could display their paintings and sculptures on the nightclub’s patio.

“I have a lot of students in the arts school who will bring their art,” said Jenny Kratz, a Henry’s employee.

The alliance also plans to create an Eighth Street brochure that will include the history of the area and the specialties of some area businesses.

Contacts between the alliance and the city have been scarce because the alliance is a couple of months old. But City Manager Mike Wildgen said the idea sounded promising.

“We spend a tremendous amount of money in the downtown area,” Wildgen said. “We want to help out in any way possible.”