By Staff
Our View
Not too far in Atmore's past was a strip of road lined with business on both sides. Then it seemed those stores began to slowly fade away. But within the last two months it seems that the City of Atmore might be altering the path of its recent history.
This trend unfortunately is made up of the loss of jobs and businesses, which Atmore has experienced in the recent past. Do you remember when Kmart closed its doors on that final day or the last time you had lunch at Golden Corral? Of course, we all should raise our hands or silently answer yes.
However, in the last couple of months we have had the opportunity to welcome a host of new businesses coming to our town. The Atmore Advance has been able to be a part of a number of ribbon cuttings covering businesses opening up in our fair city. A quick count gives us ribbon cuttings at Merle Norman, B's Fashions, and Abundant Life Church Day Care, and now Barnhill's joins the likes of Chen's Buffet, Sears, and Gulf Winds Credit Union. By our count, that's seven new businesses in six months to either open their doors for business or publicly announce their intent to do so.
The Barnhill's / Golden Corral situation is something that has been long in the making, and as Mr. Barnhill stated, couldn't have happened without the help of a lot of people such as Southern Real Estate, Mayor Shell and Congressman Jo Bonner.
There is a place in a runner's mind that is referred to as the "Wall." It is a place that is feared and when hit can take a person to some of their lowest lows. It's a place where your physical side gives out and your mental side must decide if it will or can take over for the now defunct physical portion of the person, or in this particular instance a town. Our opinion is one that says the city of Atmore has hit the wall…and broken through it.
Nationally, signs of a slow economic recovery have been registering for the past several months. It's beginning to look like Atmore could be benefitting from a national recovery.
A spirit of success has risen just as the mythical phoenix rises from the ashes. We will not be defeated and will continue as team to build this city to a city of prosperity.