I had a bit more to say than could be said in a tweet or status update, so here you go!

Yesterday, we had a lovely half day at UTM due to impending doom (AKA snow), so Karen and I went to check out the semi-new restaurant in town, Parnell’s Grill. It’s a small place, as the building used to be a donut shop, but the food was great. I’ve heard they are doing well enough to be looking to expand the building or something along those lines, which isn’t usually the case for new places in Martin.

However, a more typical scene for Martin’s economy taking place at our last stop, Movie Gallery, was a going-out-of-business sale. I know that the chain is probably downsizing because they just filed for bankruptcy (again), but I don’t know if our local store was doing a good job of competing with the well-established (and cheaper) Movies to Go. Regardless, they are selling a good majority of their wares. Karen and I picked up two Wii games and Ironman on DVD just in time for the snow day. Guess we won’t be getting anything productive done…

To complete the (sadly ironic) picture of the Martin economy, there is a new store being built just down from Movie Gallery in the University Shopping Plaza. (Can anybody tell me what that is going to be?) It’s being built where the old KFC sat empty for five or so years as an wonderful eyesore. So the big net gain on new stores in Martin this season? (Or year, for all we know…) A big fat zero.

Something closes just as something new is about to open, and though we citizens of Martin might be happy or maybe even proud for a few months when this new store opens, we still have virtually no new growth.

I’m not really complaining, because I like Martin, unlike a lot of people my age. Plus, Martin’s economic/business situation doesn’t impact me that much because I’ll be off to grad school soon. But for those still here, and for those students coming here in the near future, I wish Martin could successfully add and KEEP a few more businesses (stores and restaurants in particular) thriving.

What are your thoughts?