SMALL BUSINESS
Nearly two years ago, Taylor residents saw the first signs of an impending culture shift as land clearing began for a massive chip manufacturer.
Now, as thousands of construction workers bring the Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. semiconductor foundry closer to completion, Taylor’s smallbusiness environment is in a kind of limbo.
The recently announced shuttering of Applebee’s, which was lured to the city with economic incentives nearly two decades ago when the population numbered even smaller, has some questioning if Taylor can support both homegrown and franchise businesses.
Despite millions of dollars spent to reinvigorate downtown, for example, business is inconsistent for many.
“We still don’t have the foot traffic downtown to support businesses,” said Jesse Ancira, a former Taylor mayor and the owner of Ancira Salsa and a consulting firm. “It’s all going to pay off. We’re just in this odd window.”
There is resource gap that won’t be closed until big businesses such as Austin Samsung Semiconductor’s Taylor campus and its suppliers bring in permanent workers as prospective customers of small businesses, said Greater Taylor Chamber of Commerce CEO and President Tia Rae Stone.
There are about 8,000 temporary workers at the Samsung site for now, according to the company.
During this inbetween period, property values and taxes or rents are going up for those independent businesses before revenue comes in. City and business leaders generally expect it to take at least two years for that gap to narrow or close.
Not all small-business closures are related to a lack of customer traffic. For example, Stone said the owner of a local boutique closed up shop because of a full-time job with a school district and needing more time with her children.
For a bridal and gift shop, the closing is about the owner retiring after many years in business, Stone added.
Likewise, she said the timing of Applebee’s shutting down comes during a period when the nationwide chain is shuttering 35 stores this year and closed the doors on 100 in 2023.
Company executives told investors this is a normal part of the revenue cycle for a mature business.
Taylor already was a smaller market than usual for the fast-casual dining chain. Modest growth and an influx of construction workers didn’t create enough new business, according to Stone.
The closing, she said, prompted some residents to ask what they could do to keep places like Applebee’s and other locally owned independent or franchise concerns from going out of existence. “If you want to shop local businesses, you have to shop local,” Stone said.
She added there are several restaurant operations already eyeing Applebee’s space.
“We heard other people were looking, so hopefully, we’ll have something that’s a good fit,” Stone said.
More franchise-chain operations and corporateowned locations of eateries and other businesses are eyeing Taylor, too, she said. Major enterprises such as Starbucks are going gangbusters in the city and that attracts more outlets of a similar stature.
Development along a commercial loop that includes Carlos G. Parker Boulevard Northwest and the southwest portion of town including U.S. 79 shows great promise, officials said.
As housing developments build out, more retail businesses of all kinds are likely to follow the population, Stone said.
Among those is a QuikTrip convenience store. The fast-growing locations, also known as QT, usually have a small to-go restaurant offering fare from made-to-order sandwiches to tacos.
Another business making its way to the loop is Caliber Collision at 202 Mustang Cove, just south of the railroad.
The auto body and paint shop chain plans a $3 million site in Taylor, according to an April filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
“People want to support local businesses. But there’s old Taylor and new Taylor, and they don’t always mix,” Ancira said.
Dining options are an example of changes that occur when new people move to a smaller city, sometimes from more metropolitan areas.
“New people are used to more restaurants to chose from and more variety (of cuisine) and old Taylor is chicken-fried steaks,” he added.
