Posted by Cares About Home on January 18, 2019, 10:40 am
I find myself wondering what our new Director of Economic Development will focus on in their first attempts to bring new business to our city. I know that people are clamoring for industry, but I can't help but think that industry won't come unless there is other infrastructure to support it.
I know that some people will argue, and they very well may be correct, that a steel mill would be likely to bring other businesses here. I would argue that it is quite the opposite. If our city hopes to attract bigger (blue collar) industry here, whether steel, shipping, or anything else, we need other things to keep our citizens here.
For example:
1) Grocers - With Shop N' Save and KMart both sitting idle and empty, why not approach Kroger and ask them to come fill one of the spaces. They already have one member of their "family of stores" in town with Ruler Foods, so they know the support that a discount grocer can get. Why not try to entice them to come have their full store in our city? Every church and non-profit should be on board for this as well as other businesses, because Kroger offers a Community Rewards program in which they donate money to organizations when people register to that organization then shop at Kroger.
2) Shopping - Why is Wal-Mart our best option for a "big" store? Why not try to bring in an H&M or an Express, where men and women can buy trendy clothes, and our youth will have someplace they want to go? People go to Wal-Mart now because it is all there is, or they make the trip to Edwardsville, Collinsville, or Fairview Heights. I considered suggesting Kohl's, but I don't know if they would want to add a Granite City location along with their existing ones in Edwardsville, Collinsville, and Alton respectively. Even Target would be a good alternative to Wal-Mart, they could easily fill the KMart or Shop N' Save location, and would (again) offer competition to Wal-Mart.
3) Restaurants - I love Ravanelli's and Jerry's, and I enjoy Applebee's. Park Grill is good too, but it can't seat a lot of people at one time. I've never been a fan of Lascelles, and I can't think of any kind of bar/grill or fine dining in town besides the ones I have mentioned thus far (I would welcome to be corrected on this). That said, I hope that our new Director of Economic Development would look to expand our diversity of options by trying to invite places like Olive Garden, 54th Street, Lonestar or Outback. Yes there are all chain restaurants, but they provide good food and would keep people spending their money in Granite City. Also, adding the places I mentioned above might bring others into Granite City, because with the exception of 54th Street (Edwardsville) people would have to travel all the way to Fairview Heights to dine at the other locations.
These are just some thoughts that I have, I don't know if anyone cares to read them, but if you've made it this far, I appreciate it. I would welcome and encourage discussion on this topic, as I think that (positive) discussion in this vein would be beneficial for our city longterm.
on January 18, 2019, 10:40 am