From manufacturers to retail to restaurant and healthcare, the coronavirus pandemic is crippling the business world as well. Northwest Georgia already is caught in the swirl and it is picking up each day. Below please find an update on some of the bigger moves since it all began, tips on where to find relief… Read more
An announcement atop Sunday’s print edition of the Rome News-Tribune tells of changes coming next weekend, including dropping the Sunday and Monday editions as the Saturday publication expands to a weekend format. The newspaper’s website will continue on a seven-day cycle. The move comes as the newspaper’s owner, the family behind the Marietta Daily Journal, likewise… Read more
Rome’s Landmark Restaurant is using the ongoing shutdown as a time to remodel. For now, the restaurant at 2740 Martha Berry Highway is not doing call-in or carry out service. Instead, renovation work is under way, both inside and out. Friends say they’ve replaced the ceiling tile, lights and flooring is next.… Read more
In addition to daily tests of employees’ health, Walmart is taking other steps because of the pandemic. Among them: Limiting access to the store from the grocery side only. Walmart procautions. In context: From production work to restaurants, a growing number of Georgians including those in our five-county area are losing their… Read more
For nearly two decades, you’ve been able to get a pretty good look at a potential new home online. Digital access changed the way home sales and rentals have been marketed, growing from page after page of Realtor-placed ads appearing in black-and-white in Sunday newspapers to colorful real estate magazines to the most recent drone-and-camera… Read more
Dalton-based Shaw Industries — which closed five Bartow campuses for several days for a thorough cleaning after four employees tested positive for coronavirus — is suspending much of its U.S. production starting April 6. Some campuses will resume operations on April 13. The company is one of the largest employers in Northwest Georgia. Also,… Read more
In context: Toyo Tire’s decision is the second such call by local manufacturers in Bartow County. Last week, Shaw Industries announced it was pausing work at five Bartow County campuses after four workers tested positive for coronavirus. The latest: “The Bartow county manufacturing facilities are starting up on a rolling schedule and should all be… Read more
Even as record-setting positive numbers for Northwest Georgia’s labor force are being shared Friday morning, state leaders are preparing for an onslaught of jobless claims from this month. For more, please see the combined media releases below: Thursday, Gov. Brian P. Kemp and the Georgia Department of Labor “addressed the unprecedented demand for economic… Read more
Very generous offer from Hi-Tech Signs: Wall Street Journal profiles owners of Table 20 and the impact of the coronavirus on small business. The story is behind a pay wall for now but perhaps friends with a subsription can share. It starts as follows: “Allie and Chris Lyons, the owners of a popular farm-to-table… Read more
Romans are teaming up to help support local businesses as the coronavirus battle continues. A new Facebook group, ‘Rome Curbside and Delivery,’ was created Saturday and now had more than 3,100 members at last count. The group is organized to help local restaurants continue to serve customers via takeout or delivery despite the new challenges… Read more
Lots of questions this morning as the former Circle K/Exxon station at 1501 Martha Berry Blvd. has closed across from the main office of Greater Community Bank. The convenience store/gas station/car wash was popular, especially with neighbors in Summerville Park. Open 24 hours a day, it especially was busy during the morning rush. Several weeks… Read more
Saturday update: (Media release) Pirelli Tire North America Inc. is preparing to suspend operations in Rome as part of an effort to protect the health and safety of its workers amid the spread of the coronavirus. Pirelli said it plans to scale back production, starting March 22, and will then suspend manufacturing for one week, starting… Read more
With restaurants and bars moving to drive-up or delivery, some jobs are being lost. The Georgia Department of Labor has stepped up with updates about filing claims and other news both those laid off and employees need to know. We also remain big fans of Career Depot when looking in Northwest Georgia. What to do… Read more
Shaw closes Cartersville plant for cleaning after empoyee tests positive. Media release: Shaw received confirmation Friday of an associate who tested positive for COVID-19, at the company’s Plant 12, Cartersville, Ga., location. The associate is under the care of a medical provider. As part of our response protocol, we temporarily closed… Read more
Media release: Northwest Georgia kept all annual numbers positive in January. The annual numbers for labor force, employed residents, and initial claims all remained positive, preliminary numbers show. In the region, the unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points in January, reaching 3.7 percent. A year ago, the rate was 4.4 percent. The labor force in… Read more
By Natalie Simms nsimmshh@att.net Local bargain hunters have two new shopping options in Rome that offer online liquidations, sometimes worth hundreds of dollars, for rock bottom prices of $5 or less. Since opening their doors in last month, both Dollar Days, at 1417 N. Broad St., and Bargain Bins, at 1600 Shorter Ave., have… Read more