By Gina Hendrickson

It is the beginning of a New Year, with more businesses and jobs coming into our city of Vicksburg, I started to reflect on businesses that opened here in 2018. I was able to attend several ribbon-cutting ceremonies throughout 2018 and the excitement of the owners was priceless. I thought how many businesses opened? Were they still open? Why did they want to open in the city of Vicksburg?

I began what I thought would be quick research into businesses that opened. I was incorrect! It turned into several days of research.

Most of us read articles and/or saw on social media some businesses that opened in 2018. For example and to start: Cottonwood Public House; El Paso Mexican Grill; Margaritaville Hotel and Landshark Restaurant; Mississippi Barbeque Company restaurant; Fit Chef Catering; Overdrive Nutrition; Donuts, Coffee and More; Los Parrilleros restaurant; The Watermark; Shananigan’s Boutique; Pretend City Costumes and More; Fix Fitness Center and HQ Homemade Burgers.

Additional stores and services that opened in 2018 include but are not limited to: Serenity Nails and Spa; Fun Lane Bowling; Teen Hangout; L&M Boutique; Davidson’s Marble and Granite Works; Food mart/Western Union and gas station on Halls Ferry Road (in the Marcus Bottom area); The Yoga Shop; CJ’s Tire and Auto; Tina’s Top Notch Cleaning; Jubilee Therapy; and The Peace Place Counseling Services. (Apologies if I missed a business)

The City had two engineering firms open downtown — Neel-Schaffer and Waggoner Engineering.

Three large existing businesses (with other locations) expanded into Vicksburg: Industrial Wood Products, Unified Brands and Monument Financial Partners. Last but not least, Vicksburg Forest Products opened. All combined these four businesses created approximately 600 jobs in Vicksburg.

I decided to reach out to a couple of our new business owners. Shana, owner of Shananigan’s Boutique, said she “fell in love with downtown, the revitalization of the downtown area, love the history and seeing it grow.”

Ashton Hotard owner of Jubilee Therapy said in 2018 she opened in Vicksburg because she felt a significant need for Speech Therapy and was happy to report that business picked up in 2019.

Courtney Reed of Fix Fitness said, “Everyone loves downtown. It was a great location, great space at a great price.”

Lori Davidson of Davidson’s Marble and Granite Works Inc. said they are excited to be open in Vicksburg and are hopeful they will do well.

After speaking with some of our new local business owners and realizing the success in the city with business openings and job creation, made the several days of research worth it. I also learned of businesses that opened I was unaware of. I am very optimistic and excited as to what 2019 will bring to our growing city of Vicksburg.

Economic success is what we as a community want for our local business owners — the new, the existing and the ones to come. As a community, we need to show all of them our support. Our support is not specific to “go spend your money,” although that is always appreciated. It could simply be a visit saying “congratulations.” Take pictures and share them on your social media accounts. Like their social media pages and share them to help promote the business. Local business owners greatly appreciate a local supportive community.

Gina Hendrickson is a resident of downtown Vicksburg and operates Facebook pages geared toward sharing our city’s positive news.