New businesses are opening up all the time in New Albany, but mainly in the northern portion of the city.
State Street, which is close to Interstate 265 and is lined with new construction, is full of them. It’s growth, which can appear to be happening all at once.
CLo Monolo, general manager of the Tucker’s restaurant, which is located directly by the interstate on State Street, stated, “It’s not as congested as a lot of other places that have a huge amount of growth in a short period of time. “There are certainly a lot of things emerging, and while there may be some restaurants emerging that could be competitors, we love the competitive business element of it,” the speaker said.
Due to a decade of accumulation, a car wash, banks, and additional restaurants have all appeared in the previous few months.
The population of Floyd County increased by roughly 8% between 2010 and 2020, according to Wendy Dant Chesser, CEO of One Southern Indiana. It was closer to 10% in Clark County.
It’s mostly the result of a “keeping up with the Joneses” mentality, which is also the cause of the growth on Jeffersonville’s east side next to the River Ridge Development. Additionally, according to Dant Chesser, Floyd County workers are earning more on average.
“Our industrial growth in southern Indiana has been very active, and that only fuels more activity in the commercial and retail spaces,” she said.
Instead of renting space, many of the new enterprises opt to construct their facilities from the bottom up. On State Street, there are several projects now being built, including a Chipotle, a Panera Bread, and a car wash.
But growing pains come along with all of this development. Over 30 years on State Street, Ben Franklin Crafts closed its doors in August. What will occupy its old place is still a mystery. The Office Depot is conducting a shop closing sale across the parking lot in the same location and anticipates shutting this weekend to make room for a TJ Maxx to move in.
According to Dant Chesser, “We’re also beginning to appeal more to vacationers, which is why some of the hotels and sit-down restaurants are becoming of greater interest.”
Near the State Street Starbucks, a Bob Evan’s restaurant has shuttered. The Sleepy Rooster, a new brunch establishment, moved into the premises in November.