I am concerned about the future of Signal Mountain business. Most of you have probably heard that Seventeen Ninety, the excellent new restaurant recently opened by Rick and Nancy Adams of Southern Star fame has closed. I have just found out that another business, CLS Lighting is also closing. Anthony and Barb Amabile moved to this community and opened this business, but have been unable to attract enough customers to keep it open. Fortunately, in both cases these business owners have alternatives. Southern Star will continue to serve excellent sandwiches and salads. Anthony is a Master Electrician and also runs Signal Mountain Electric Service. He is available for electrical work and also specializes in generator installation. You can reach Anthony at 591-1632 or his cell at 838-9220. Snoda and I have had Anthony work on some things at our house and we can vouch for his quality and integrity. As they close the retail shop, I understand they will be selling lightbulbs at 15% discounts, so drop by and wish them well and stock up on bulbs.
I have heard rumors of other businesses teetering on the edge of closing, too. I urge all my fellow Signal Mountain residents to check local before going "off the mountain". We have some excellent restaurants up here, but we won't if they don't have customers. Check out the Mountain Business Associations website http://signalmba.com/ to find out about some of our businesses. Obviously there are many more who aren't members of the MBA, also. All of our businesses are important, check 'em out! If any local businesses would like for me to mention them in a blog, I am happy to do so. Just send me a brief write-up and an image if you'd like and I'll put it on here. My rates are cheap (free!). Just doing what I can to help.
3 comments:
Signal Mountain has long had a reputation as the place restaurants go to die. Over the years, many more have failed than have proven successful. I think most people have the habit of eating off the mountain when they eat out, and I doubt it will change. I don't know about other types of businesses, but I doubt there is a critical mass of potential business for a lighting store up here even if everyone shopped local rather than going to Home Depot or Lowe's. There is very little new construction and who is going to remodel in this economy?
I can tell you why I do not patronize some of the retail businesses on the mountain. They seem to have a consistent return policy. Emerson, several years ago wanted to purchase a bleacher chair for me for Christmas. He went up to the sporting goods store and had one already picked out. When he took it to the counter it was $50 and he thought it was like $20. He was too shy/shocked to say anything so he plopped his money on the counter. His big brother went up not more then 3 hours later and explained to the OWNER that Emerson didn't know it would be that expensive and would like to return it. She would only give store credit! "that was the policy".
Judith purchased some shoes and took them home and put them on and they did not fit as well as when she tried them on in the store and decided to return them. Same deal, "store credit only". This is a small town and if they want to be difficult there are plenty of places we can go that do not have small signs up in the corner that announces their return policy.
I would love to support our local retailers and still frequent several of the restaurants regularly but unreasonable retail stores I do not have time for.
Regarding 1790, I hate to lose them and I too have heard of another one or two that might soon close. There is an additional issue at play here and I think it is the rent. I have no idea what they pay but I would suspect it is top dollar.
A face lift would be helpful but most importantly they need to treat their local residents like they want the business instead of acting like we are lucky to have them. Who actually owns the buildings, do you know?
As a small business owner, I can attest that the Signal Mountain government consistently treats business owners as third class citizens rather than assets to our community.
It is hard enough to try and provide the "Mayberry" environment that most people say they want while trying to compete with the Walmarts on price and return policies, etc., couple that with constant pressure from committees who know nothing about business trying to dictate "what the mountain needs" and government workers who feel making our community better means forcing more programs and requirements on businesses at their expense, and you end up with the harsh and trying environment that you speak of.
The answer is less political involvement and more free market. Businesses will successfully fill the needs of residents if we leave them alone to do so or they will go out of business.
Through fear mongering of "run away expansion and potential porn shops and other undesirables" we have created an environment of overly restricted land use forcing the available rental spaces into a monopolistic scenario that through lack of competition allows the commercial landlords to do what they please thereby hurting all potential businesses. The result is a lack of suitable businesses. Why do anything here when you can go to the bottom of the mountain where the free market dictates rents and amenities and government welcomes business to help expand the tax base and lower property taxes.
Lower property taxes mean more money in the residents pockets and more willingness to pay a little extra for the convenience of shopping near home.
We have such talented and creative people on this mountain, if we dumped the committees, got some real leaders who would quit listening to the few vocal busy-bodies that want to dictate how everyone needs to live and instead did the hard work of trying to talk to the majority of people on this mountain who are too busy working their behinds off to be involved with what color/size a businesses sign should be; and informed our governement employees that they are here for the residents and businesses support not the other way around; then we might actually have a shot at improving our business environment rather than oppressing it.
For sure, if we keeping doing the same things politically, you can expect the same results. Our population has grown substantially over the years, but we refuse to adapt to the changes with respect to businesses, this does not create a Mayberry environment it crushes any possibility of it.
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