The question always comes up. When is Dillon County going to get a chain sit-down restaurant? The truth of the matter is probably not too soon unless one comes to the City of Dillon.
Why the negativity? Have the citizens of Dillon County not expressed that they want this type of business? What about the economic development office? Can’t they get one? What’s going on?
The first thing is that we need to support the sit down restaurants that we already have that are not part of a chain and are privately owned. King’s Pizza, the Sombrero Room, Del Sol, Shuler’s BBQ, B & C, Southern Fried, and other smaller venues in our community would definitely appreciate your support. They have good, reasonably priced food and the people who run these businesses and work at these businesses are part of our community. That should not be discounted or taken for granted.
As far as a chain sit-down restaurant, Dillon County is unlikely to get one until a law is passed allowing alcohol sales on Sunday. This editorial is not an endorsement of Sunday alcohol sales by any means, but simply an effort to give truthful and factual information on the issue of sit-down chain restaurants and why they aren’t locating here. A chain restaurant reportedly looking at the Oak Grove area sometime back cited this as an issue. Currently, the City of Dillon is the only municipality that has passed Sunday alcohol sales and would be the most likely to get this type of restaurant.
It would take a vote of council to allow the public to vote on the issue of alcohol sales on Sunday and then a vote of the public. Some council members in the two municipalities or on the county council may not wish to take this step due to religious issues.
Another big thing these restaurants is going to look at also is if there is enough population base that makes enough money to be regular customers and support them year-round. Did you fill out your census? If not, shame on you. If you didn’t, your failure to do so may be part of what’s holding us back. Many look to the census data to find out this kind of information.
Also, they have to have somebody to work at these restaurants. The restaurants we have now are desperately seeking workers, and we all know that since the pandemic, some have reduced hours or have been unable to open on some days due to not enough workers showing up to work. Anybody scouting for a restaurant location is going to check out the local employment scene to see if jobs are filled and if a competent workforce who they would want representing their company is available.
Another thing they look at is the attitude of the community. If people are constantly on social media posting negative comments about what they do have available, then they are going to take that into consideration because who wants to locate somewhere where people don’t take pride in their community and the businesses there.
Finally, the role of the Economic Development Office. Some may not really understand what the role of Economic Development is. Their job is not to go out a recruit chain restaurants or even retail businesses. Their job is to seek industries that pay higher wages and salaries, allow people to get jobs that turn into careers that lead to home ownership and create wealth in the community. Retail and restaurant jobs are considered as second jobs, part-time jobs, or entry level jobs in the economic development community. Economic Development’s job is to get these higher wage jobs that come from industry so that the community will become more attractive to retail stores and restaurants who want to locate in areas with certain income levels that will allow the people there to regularly patronize their restaurants and businesses.
There is a great deal that plays into getting a sit-down restaurant. It’s not as simple as some may think. So support what you have, fill out your census, take advantage of the job opportunities available, and stop being so negative about the community and maybe good things will come soon.
