By Robert Morales —
Pueblo P/X will be opening soon in Van Horn. The new convenience store
located on West Broadway next to Cattle Company is a welcome addition.
Joseph
Welsh, a long-time business owner in Van Horn, made a decision to
expand his business to include a convenience store on Broadway. We’re
told that the new store will have the usual items such as gas pumps,
coffees, soft drinks and the like, but at some point, the store will
also have daily lunch specials that will include a variety of cuisines.
Mr.
Welsh did not have to make this investment in Van Horn. He could have
chosen another location in a different town where he does business.
If
we look back to the 1960s and 1970s, Van Horn had a movie theater, a
drive-in theater, at least three department stores (United, Margarets’
and GiGi’s), at least three grocery stores, a furniture store and a host
of other small business retail outlets that have long shut down.
We
need more Joseph Welshes to create new jobs and new opportunities for
our town. Unfortunately, no one in Van Horn appears to understand the
concept of economic development. We must lure new businesses to Van
Horn, but before we can do that, we must improve the quality of our
workforce. That can only be done through education via tech schools and
other colleges that specialize in short-term degrees.
We wish Mr. Welsh luck in his new venture. We should also thank him for thinking of our town.
