According to their sign, the West Side Burger King will close for the winter this Saturday and re-open in the spring, much like the downtown Dairy Queen. Either sales have dropped off a lot or they are still having staffing problems. Maybe the cost of heating the building outweighs potential sales?
Another sign of dire economic times whether staffing or heating. Also, since Carbondale is also economically dependent on SIUC has anyone ever noticed that the Chancellor does not reside in the area nor The President. The Chancellor is around for the barest possible minimum and the President not at all. Has anyone ever inquired why they got huge raises despite the fact they have done nothing to increase the enrollment necessary for Carbondale's economic health?
ReplyDeleteIf "Orange is the new Black" maybe Carondale is he new Cairo especially with the influx of its gang members?
It's closing for a complete remodel. They are spending in excess of $500,000 to completely gut it and remodel. Thats not the sign of "dire economic times". Tony - it's clear you dislike Carbondale. I hope you don't live here. The haters like you are just losing an investment opportunity. When the ROI gets to 100% in 5 years people like you will just complain some more . Theres nothing that can be done to silence the haters. Your negativity is reflective of you. Not the rest of Carbodnale. Also - why would the chancellor live here full time if he didn't need to? It's 2023. The fact that someone can live elsewhere and still work in Carbondale is GREAT for the University. We can attract much better talent that way - which is what the hospital has been doing for years. Why live in Carbondale and pay the insane property taxes when you can live 2 hours away with a house that costs 4x as much and pay LESS in taxes and have much better schools? SIU's short term future is predicated on the fact that great talent can work at SIU but not live here. Its a great idea - and its already working.
DeleteFirst, Dave, thanks for answering the question both I and Castle Perilous asked. second, this has nothing to do with hating Carbondale but pointing out problems it has and using the "love it or leave it" posture of MAGA Americans does not work, especially for Carbondale. The place is in economic decline. You have only to drive around and see the closed business signs. Second, it depends on SIUC now suffering low enrollment which neither Chancellor or President have done nothing to fix. Both do not live here and this is a 24/7 problem needing their presence, otherwise why give them rises for a job not done? Also, people can live 2 hours away. That is no problem. But Texas, Springfield? Great talent has already left SIUC in disgust for better positions. Others have retired. The issue is serious and to call those who draw attention to such problems "haters" merely distracts from the very serious issues affecting the local community. With salaries low, budgets cut, morale in deep decline, nobody wants to work at SIUC as the failure to attract good candidates for the first Provost hire reveals. It is not a matter of liking or disliking Carbondale but recognizing problems that will make it resemble Cairo, IL. sooner rather than later.
DeleteThis has nothing to do with MAGA or Cairo, IL. That response was simply bizarre. I will continue to invest in Carbondale. So will many others. The fact that you are attempting to legitimately compare Cairo to Carbondale tells me all i need to know. Yes, Carbondale does indeed have serious problems but there are also 6,000 households here who make over $40,000 a year. Cairo has less than 200 who make that much. The average value of an owner occupied house in C'dale is $118K. In Cairo its under $30K. Again - its a strangely bizarre comparison. I know all these statistics because i work for a lot of companies and investors who are doing research on Southern Illinois. You can choose not to invest here and do nothing to help. But i am telling you for fact: Our problems our being purposefully exaggerated (much like Chicago) in order to drop the cost of investments so the shady business people can buy up the leftovers on the cheap. That is 100% occurring. Maybe it will work. Maybe it wont. To me its clearly worth the risk and to be honest i thank people like you who make it feasible for me to buy a whole apartment building for $70K. Thank you for that. Also - i was wrong on the BK renovation. It's a complete tear down and rebuild and its cost is $1.7 million. Are you telling me that Restaurants Brands International (a $20 Billion company) is making a $1.7 million error or perhaps just perhaps.....those companies don't care about the narrative and are just relying on math and economics. The math and economics does indeed say Carbondale is changing and there has clearly been both an enrollment decline and a population decline but 100 years of recent economic human history say that is the EXACT time to bet big. Don't get mad at us in 10 years because you missed out on the investment opportunity of a lifetime.
DeleteI'm not at all interested in any investment opportunities, as you obviously are, but simply pointing out issues of image and enrollment decline (due to demographics and other issues) that are adversely affecting the economic health of Carbondale. Like it or not, Carbondale is dependent on student numbers which many businesses need for survival. failure to address these issues along with the increasing problems of gang violence may mean that investment interest (apart from multi-national entities like Brands International) for local concerns may simply not be there if these issues continue.
DeleteI know the Chancellor leaves town every weekend. The Chamber of Commerce was unsure if he would even be around for the dedication of the Saluki mural downtown.
ReplyDelete