Published: March 24, 2008 07:51 pm         

New signs of growth popping up around Princeton

PRINCETON, W.Va. — New businesses opening inside and outside of Princeton are finding a warm welcome along with expectations of more to come.

Construction projects have become familiar sights along Stafford Drive in Princeton, but some of these projects have become business locations. A Walgreens drug store is going up at the intersection of Courthouse Road and Stafford while a Sonic Drive-In recently opened on Stafford itself.

“It’s wonderful,” Greg Cook, director of operations at Sonic, said of the new restaurant’s reception. “We’ve been here now for four weeks. This area is just a great location. It’s near the school, it’s near the police department. As of last week we’re now open 24 hours.”

The fact that a major venue for activities, the Chuck Mathena Center for the Performing and Fine Arts, is being constructed along Stafford Drive makes the location even more exciting, Cook said.

“That will really enhance the area,” he said.

Outside Princeton, businesses such as a new automotive dealership, bank locations, and restaurants continue to grow near the intersection of U.S. Route 460 and Interstate 77.

“We have actually been booming. It’s been great,” said Melissa Hampton, a shift manager with Starbucks near Ambrose Lane. “We actually get a lot of travelers from Canada and Ohio. They’re the biggest part of our clientele so far. We get a lot of college students from Bluefield State and Concord.

Overall, new businesses have been doing well in the Princeton area, said City Manager Wayne Shumate.

“I think that the policies the city council has put into place are progressive, and that’s why business owners believe in our city and are investing in the future,” he said.



Greg Jordan writes for the Bluefield (W.Va.) Daily Telegraph.