Media release: Greater Community Bank is beginning 2019 with strong financial results for the quarter ended March 31. Coming off of its second consecutive record-breaking year in 2018, Greater Community Bank reports net earnings of $659,000, making first quarter 2019 the most profitable quarter in the bank’s history. Highlights from the first quarter include a 15% increase in… Read more
County-by-county look at the jobless rate in April: Floyd: 3.2 percent. Trending: Down. Bartow: 3 percent. Trending: Down. Gordon: 2.8 percent. Trending: Down. Polk: 3.2 percent. Trending: Down. Chattooga: 3.4 percent. Trending: Down. Media release: Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Rome added jobs again in April. According to preliminary data, Rome also managed… Read more
Dressbarn to close at Calhoun Outlet Marketplace; latest chain to cease operations: As the final days arrive for Payless Shoe Source, including the Rome store near IHOP, another reltail has announced plans to close. This time, it is Dressbarn, with the nearest store at Calhoun Outlet Marketplace off I-75 and Ga.53. Also already leaving… Read more
A partnership of Georgia Power, Atlanta Gas Light and International Paper is combining to run a much larger gas service line from Coosawatee to the IP plant in West Rome, a project valued at more than $22 million, says Bryan Batson of Atlanta Gas Light. While four times larger than the existing line, the… Read more
Media release: Greater Community Bancshares Inc., the holding company for Greater Community Bank, announces that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program that will enable the company to repurchase up to $650,000 of its common stock. “The Board’s decision to repurchase stock was based on the strength of the company’s balance sheet and capital… Read more
By Natalie Simms nsimmshh@att.net Sunflour Community Bakery opens this week in Rome’s growing River District of Fifth Avenue, West Third Street and Avenue A. With renovation work under way at a few other nearby buildings, along with the planned $2 million special sales tax project for improving streetscapes, it’s just the start of more things to come… Read more
The vacant outparcel in front of Mount Berry Mall at 2730 Martha Berry Highway, the former home of Buchanan’s Sports Bar, will be on the auction block in June. Dempsey Auction Company will be auctioning the 8,600 square foot, free-standing building that has been vacant since the March 2016 closing of the sports bar… Read more
The new Murphy USA fuel center is rising quickly atop the former location at the East Rome Walmart off U.S. 411 and Callier Springs Road. The popular fill-up spot — which featured a small store with walk-up service and restrooms, closed April 24. The new location is scheduled to open this summer. It is… Read more
EMPLOYMENT HEADLINES Rome/Floyd County sees a 900-job spike in 12 months with 200 jobs added since March. State jobless rate drops to 3.8 percent vs. 4.2 percent in April 2018. Initial jobless claims by county: Floyd, 433 claims, up from March and from April a year ago; Bartow, 180 claims, down from previous months; Chattooga,… Read more
Here’s an interesting look at the proposed East Bend retail center courtesy of the company marketing the Payless Shoe Source location for lease as that business winds down. New to us, at least, is how the East Bend footprint lays out. Note the big anchor — some now believe that is Kohls — lays… Read more
Signs of the times: New informational signs are up at points across downtown Rome with “points of interest” on one side and annual events on the other. Included: A list of parking options, parks and trails, churches, accommodations and landmarks. For more: Facebook Mark Cathy, grandson of Chick-fil-A dounder Truett Cathy, to address Cartersville-Bartow… Read more
Above: What the station looked like as of Monday afternoon as a new version will soon rise in its place. Hometown video (10 seconds). The big makeover at the Murphy USA station at the East Rome Walmart continues. The popular gas station with a small store selling drinks, candy and lottery tickets closed… Read more
A couple of notes about one of the most talked-about new players in Northwest Georgia, the addition of Stacy’s Chicken Salad Chick. First, the founder herself, Stacy M. Brown, was in Rome last week and spoke before the Floyd County College and Career Academy’s annual awards dinner. Second, the above photo from Friday shows the… Read more
