In the best of times, starting a business can be the ultimate game of chance. This sentiment is the most shared among a handful of business owners establishing their respective enterprises in Martinsville’s Uptown District, home to a diverse list of shops, arcades and at least one speakeasy.
The variety of businesses in the city’s Uptown is in no way indicative of the difficulty doing business in the city. In recent years, Martinsville has seen fast food chains, full-service restaurants and a bookstore shut their doors in the midst of growing unemployment, inflation and other troubling economic factors.
Meanwhile, the trio behind new Martinsville businesses Be Wiched, Southern Seasons and an additional Starling Cards and Comics location aren’t losing too much sleep.
This is in spite of choosing to deal with the anxiety of opening their respective establishments in the midst of what might or might not be the worst of economic times.
Turn that downturn upside down
“It’s tough to start a new business,” said Martinsville’s newest restaurateur, Kat Kitzmiller.
As co-owner of Be Wiched, Kitzmiller and her husband, David, have been quietly serving breakfast and lunch from their understated and pleasantly lit restaurant. Previously a Rooskies that served fries, hamburgers and other typical Americana fare, Be Wiched has a slightly different style.
A largely open floor plan makes use of the relatively smaller building. The atmosphere, even when packed in the mornings, lends itself toward a quiet, yet somehow jovial dining experience.
It is as modern of a restaurant as one will find in Martinsville.
Kitzmiller said that opening a restaurant, regardless of the economic landscape, is itself a challenge, considering the average restaurant’s success rate. Opening one during a recession only compounds the difficulty.
However, are we in a recession? The consensus among experts is no, although diagnosing the current economic moment is difficult.
“It’s one of those things where you’ll know it when you see it,” said Can Dogan, associate professor of economics at Radford University.
Dogan and Thomas Duncan, professor of economics at Radford, provided their expert opinions on the nature of recessions and their symptoms.
“An economic downturn is the slowing down of the economy,” Duncan said, with Dogan later specifying that negative GDP growth over the span of two quarters is one of several tell-tale signs.
“Even though GDP is one of the things, we also consider other aspects of the economy,” Dogan said. “One of the main indicators is the unemployment rate. The unemployment rate and the GDP, they are correlated.”
The unemployment rate, as of August, is 4.3%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This statistic represents 7.4 million people.
“People are having a difficult time finding jobs and they are hesitant to switch jobs because they are afraid they might not find a better one,” Dogan said.
While no two recessions are exactly the same, economic uncertainty is one of the major common denominators. This includes employment uncertainty and uncertainty pertaining to the cost of running a business.
Starling Cards and Comics owner David Garrett, whose business has been dealing with the price of construction, said tariffs have been one of a few consistent points of concern since he recently started on the project.
The building will serve as the sister location of the already popular Starling Comics on Starling Avenue.
Driving down Starling Avenue, the unassuming shop is easy to miss. A haven for comic nerds, playing card nerds, or collectible nerds, Starling continues to attract a large and diverse customer base. The original shop’s success is why Garett wants to open a new location with more passing foot traffic.
Garrett purchased the original shop in 2023. It was founded in 1991 and has weathered every downturn and pandemic since.
He hopes lightning will strike twice with his new location but admits he is concerned about the timing of this new endeavor.
Duncan said starting businesses during uncertain times, while not always a consideration among entrepreneurs, should be a thing to consider.
“If you are trying to make a product and you want people to buy it, you might put a whole lot of time, effort and money into building your business but … nobody buys your product at the end,” Duncan said. “Maybe in good times people are willing to spend their money, but now people don’t want to spend their money.”
Garrett never had that issue but admits that taking the reins of an established shop and building one from scratch are different. Garrett said he welcomes the challenge.
“It’s been my dream job since school,” Garrett said. “Even though I was taking over a store within a thriving community, I was concerned, coming in, about shaking the boat too much.”
Reading the tea leaves
Uncertain job markets, rampant cost of living increases and reduction in new construction are themselves tell-tale signs of less-than-ideal economic times. For the trio of business owners who recently set up shop in Martinsville, the goal is to inoculate themselves by building up their respective communities of patrons.
Moore made use of an eclectic atmosphere to attract her customer base. From an interior overflowing with colors and pastels to an exterior featuring a sort of debutante flamingo, Southern Seasons is a standout on Martinsville’s Main Street.
Moore said the decor is a reflection of the shop’s philosophy. She wants to make an impression and encourage people to be repeat patrons.
“People are sometimes not so receptive to change … some people are craving change. You aren’t going to check all the boxes for everyone,” Moore said about starting up new businesses among shops that might have been around for years or decades.
Moore’s Southern Seasons is a consignment store that offers, among other services, event planning. Located at Martinsville’s Main Street, the business was among the most recent to open its doors among the trio.
So far, things are going well, and Moore said the trick is to not only keep folks invested but to have a plan and stick to it.
Moore’s plans for Southern Seasons date back to childhood. What she didn’t plan for was to start her business during a time when tariffs and unemployment would dominate headlines. She said the timing of her opening only emphasized the importance of her plan.
“Any time you open a business, you really want to have a strong plan in place,” Moore said. “I have a plan that I follow to a T. There is some concern but if you follow your business plan, one of two things are going to happen. Either you are going to be OK or you’re not going to be OK. If you’re not going to be OK, you have to go back to the drawing board to see how to make things better.”
Galvanized by the number of neighbors and residents who encouraged her to move forward with it, she decided to take advantage of the recently vacant storefront.
“It was the perfect time,” Moore said.
No ideal time
Both Garrett and Kitzmiller echoed Moore, saying the timing of their respective projects are perfect. While the economic terrain is important, the whims of their customer base, particularly for small businesses in small communities, is the most important consideration.
Online and offline, Be Wiched and Southern Seasons have hit the ground running, while anticipation for Starlings Comics’ new Church Street location is healthy.
“I was there today with my daughter, I really like your store,” said Linda Shields on Southern Seasons’ Facebook page, echoing the majority of the shop’s Facebook comments.
“During the week, I love a quick lunch and your place always hits the spot, so many options to choose from,” reads a comment from Laura Moseley on Be Wiched’s Facebook page.
“You just have to hope that you have the right concept … to make it,” Kitzmiller said. “Particularly in towns that are kind of small, I think it’s tough to start a new business. You don’t know if everyone is going to like it; you don’t know if you’re going to be for everyone.”
Like Moore, Kitzmiller said this was among her top fears in the weeks before opening for business. While Martinsville residents had encouraging words, she knew she was taking a gamble opening a restaurant in a space where a previous restaurant had to close their doors.
Ultimately, she felt now was the ideal time.
“It was the perfect time and this was the perfect building,” Kitzmiller said. “The location of this building, the area feels like it’s on the rise. It felt like the perfect melting pot for this scenario. I don’t know if this would have worked before COVID. I also don’t know what would have happened during COVID when everyone took a hit.”
Ultimately, the trio agreed the economic uncertainty of the current times wasn’t much of a deterrent largely because there is always uncertainty.
“I don’t think opening things two or three years ago would have been better,” Kitzmiller said, adding that things likely wouldn’t have been preferable opening her business during the pandemic. “And there is no telling what might happen in the future.”