Greensboro, N.C. - When BB&T announced it was adding 1700 jobs to the Triad, the Piedmont Triad Partnership took notice, and so did surrounding local businesses.
"We're really excited to have that infusion with thousands of people. It can really drive retail and service area growth and create even more jobs for our residents as the spinoff of those jobs that they announced this week," Piedmont Triad Partnership Executive Vice President Penny Whiteheart said.
All those workers are going to get hungry. They'll probably whip out their cell phone and search for nearby restaurants. A popular cell phone app called, "Yelp," could direct them to a local restaurant called, "Carolina's Diner," just a few minutes away. It's open 24-hours and serves up home cooked meals. It's the kind of place where they greet customers by name.
When the manager of the diner heard the news about BB&T, he started thinking of ways to win new customers right away.
"We used to deliver to American Express when they had that building. That's going to be a tremendous amount of business for us. We deliver. I'm going to drop off menus when they open back up. It's going to increase business for the whole area here," manager Sam Kulwicki said. "We see it all the time where a company is losing business, and then we lose business, in turn. So, for something to come in new and increase business for everyone in the area, it's great. It's wonderful."
Although the new jobs are exciting to the area, the Piedmont Triad Partnership says the local economy will need more companies to invest before things truly turn around.
"We're still down, significantly. Thousands of jobs since this recession began. But, when we see a company like BBT making such an investment and a commitment to our region, we do think that will be good for our economic development prospects as other companies consider our region," Whiteheart said.