Loss of Store Could Bring Opportunities

Mark Young, president of the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce, said it's always disappointing to see a business close."However, Jonesboro continues to see growth in the retail and commercial sectors," Young said. "The growth of the economy should lead to additional job creation opportunities."

"We are already in negotiations with national retailers about that space," Josh Brown of Haag-Brown said Friday. "None of them have committed to it because it just now happened." Potential tenants are companies that haven't been here before, he said. "Some of them are grocery stores, some of them are soft good stores, some of them are hunting and fishing stores," Brown said. "Without saying any specific names, it's like, who do you drive to Memphis to shop at, or Little Rock, that aren't in Jonesboro? Those are who the people are that we're going after."

"An existing building always has the advantage over a raw piece of dirt," Brown said.

"I think it's going to be something that the citizens will be proud of," Phillips said.

By Keith Inman, JonesboroSun Staff Writer