To the editor:
It is disturbing to learn that the popular Brownie’s Bean Blossom Family Restaurant is scheduled to close as of Oct. 31. This restaurant has been a local favorite for years, and a place where neighbors gathered, sharing food, stories and laughter. Homestyle cooking served by a friendly waitstaff has always been the order of the day.
Word is that the reason for the county-ordered closure is because of a septic issue, even though the owner had installed a county-prescribed septic system in the recent past. Now he is being asked to totally replace that system with another one, or shut down.
Brownie’s 15 employees are soon to be out of a job, patrons are going to be without their regular place to get a nourishing meal, which for many has been part of their daily routine, and Bean Blossom is going to be losing yet another important business.
Surely there is a compromise that would allow Brownie’s to continue, isn’t there? We should rally behind Brownie’s to help them stay open for us all to enjoy — and we should do likewise for the Bill Monroe Memorial Park.
I’m asking that our county government officials take a second look at recent decisions about these two particular businesses. We need establishments such as these for the jobs, entertainment, good food, and overall economic impact they provide to the Brown County community.
We can read every week about the progress and trials of the building of the Maple Leaf entertainment venue. It will be a wonderful thing for the county if it proves to be the success some project it will be. However, we are asked to be OK with the significant cost of that project, but why is there so little support for the folks who have already made an investment of their money, time, and talent as they worked to build and maintain their business? Think about how a simple touch to the first domino will cause the rest to fall.
It’s easy enough to chalk up the closing of any given business as “no big deal.” It may not be a big deal to the bystander, but to the guy who has made the sacrifice, it’s a major shift that can bring gut-wrenching worry about the economic future of his employees, as well as his own.
It’s hard to make the leap from being a worker for somebody else to starting up your own business. When that venture turns out to be successful, it’s exhilarating! That guy has laid it all on the line, and yippee! He’s got some customers who have shown up to shop, eat, be entertained, get repairs made, book a reservation, or buy stuff.
It’s time to come together and let our local officials know, (specifically, our county commissioners, our town and county councils, our planning and zoning department, our health department, and all the board members who collectively make up our local government), that we want them to encourage, not dishearten; promote, not suppress; support, not stifle.
If we’re not moving forward, then we’re either going backward, or standing still. Let’s get out of our own way and provide the infrastructure and services necessary to keep Brown County viable, and retain our existing businesses, as well as bring in new ones.
Jenny Austin, Brown County
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