I freely admit that I don't know the ins and outs of our town's administration as well as I could, because I live in the county.
However, my wish list for our area includes new stores and restaurants.
We need more variety, and it would be nice to shop in Crestview (and keep the revenues and taxes here) rather than driving to Fort Walton Beach, Destin or Pensacola.
Rumors have abounded for years that Target has looked at our area but we don't have the population to warrant a store. I am not sure if this is truth or conjecture; however, my feeling is that we do have enough potential shoppers to have new stores and restaurants as we would draw shoppers from surrounding areas.
Judging from how well the new shopping center on State Road 85 is doing, I think we have shown we want and need new businesses. We have heard the rumor that the 200-acre parcel next to and behind Ryan's was going to be a shopping mall, but it has sat empty for years.
I realize that it takes lots of planning, time, money and traffic studies to draw in new businesses, but it seems time for them to make Crestview and the surrounding area their home.
It would be nice if we could get a great cross-section of family-owned restaurants, as well as corporate restaurants to come to our area.
Growing up in the suburbs of Los Angeles, we had a "Restaurant Row" in our town, with many types of food. Rather than hurting each other because of the competition, it helped all of them because people could choose what type of food they wanted. There was a variety of food choices — everything from a steakhouse, Mexican, American, barbecue and seafood — along with plenty of parking.
I certainly don't know how we could draw more businesses to our area, but I can have high hopes and dreams!
I pray that you and your families have a very Happy Easter as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord.
Janice Lynn Crose lives in Crestview with her husband, Jim; her brother, Robb; her two rescue collies, Shane and Jasmine; and two cats, Kathryn and Prince Valiant.
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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CROSE: High hopes and dreams for new businesses