Who Thinks Brick & Mortar Retail Is Growing?

The Ag Center has a retail component. Yes, really. Perhaps it will even have video rentals and 24-hour photo developing. Who travels to a concert and takes a side shopping trip? Perhaps some do, but unless you want to make a weekend of it, you probably have no desire to shop before the big show, be it starring Elton or a walking horse.

Think locals will drive an extra five or ten miles to shop? Perhaps some will once. Don't count on that much repeat business. 

No, for any who think retail still means K-Mart or Sears, think again. These businesses thrive in a town with a population under fifty thousand:

1. Restaurants

2. Auto Service/Repair

3. Grocery Stores

4. Beauty/Barber Shops

5. Spas

6. Garden Shops

7. Dollar Stores (Even these have suffered with the advent of Wish.com)

8. Antique/Junque Shops

9. Hardware Stores

You may be able to think of a few more types, but you get the general idea. If you or your family want to shop for upscale apparel, home furnishings, or gifts, you'll probably head to Bridge Street or the Galleria. Your first thought certainly won't be "Let's go to the Ag Center."

Ag Center board member Roger Garner said of the latest planning: "These current steps might seem like monotonous things right now, but it's also exciting to see it get to this point."

Monotonous? Think he meant mundane? Perhaps minutiae? Think Mr. Garner or any of the board members know where any of this is going?