At the start of December, the local community was rocked by the pending closure announcements of Tyson Foods and Holiday Resort.
Since that time, many other businesses, large and small, have announced closures of their own with the latest being Thermal Ceramics last week. This chain of events was one of the main talking points for the monthly KVOE Q&A With Trey segment Monday morning where City Manager Trey Cocking summed up the situation in two words “It’s awful.”
Speaking on the topic of macroeconomics, Cocking says the ever-rising cost of doing business is a major issue for businesses of all sizes noting the price for “everything” has steadily risen over time placing additional financial strain on businesses both local and abroad. Cocking noted that during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a steady flow of federal incentives and resources flooding into local businesses to help them stay afloat.
Now with those incentives gone and the mounting financial pressures, it is disheartening but not surprising that many businesses and employers have had to permanently close their doors noting that change and “evolution” are constant occurrences in the business sector saying that the face of business locally 40 years ago is a far cry from where it is today.
Furthermore, Cocking says that while many businesses have had to close their doors recently, opportunities are still readily available in the form of new developments and projects coming to the community pointing to the Flint Hills Crossing project which is set to bring QuikTrip to Emporia as a prime example.
