CARTERVILLE (WSIL) -- This spring, you'll want to keep a close eye on a city in Williamson County as several small businesses will plant their roots in the downtown area.
A total of six new businesses in downtown Carterville have either opened their doors or are in the process of doing so soon.
"We've had a number of new businesses recently open up, or they're in the process of finishing renovations and preparing to open," said Carterville mayor Brad Robinson. "We're very excited about it, especially"
Robinson says what also makes these new business ventures more exciting is their timing.
"A lot of this work was being done during the midst of the pandemic," said the mayor. "Now that we're hopefully seeing the tail end of that, the businesses are finishing up and either already opening up or preparing their grand openings."
River to River Realty and K.W. Pinnacle are currently serving clients and now call downtown Carterville home.
A new antique mall also opened called Crickets and Red Brick. Their first day was this past week, with a grand opening being planned later.
Three other businesses, Cold-Blooded Coffee, Downtown Dip (a shop featuring hand-dipped ice cream), and a hair salon called, Hairography, are currently renovating their locations for a soon-to-be-announced open date.
"We're happy to have these businesses in Carterville, especially in the midst of the pandemic," said Robinson. "We're always excited to have businesses come to Carterville, but especially in these particular times."
Robinson also sees a number of these entities as a destination spot that will draw people to Carterville.
"Those are placed where people from all over southern Illinois that will either come to initially visit or come back because of their product and atmosphere," said Robinson.
Not only are the number of small businesses growing in the western Williamson county town, but they're also locally owned.
"I think they have a personal connection to their neighbors and the people that live here and go to school here," said Robinson. "Even though our downtown isn't something that can be measured up to a larger city's downtown, we have a lot of forward momentum. When good things are happening, people want to be a part of that positive change."
