Salisbury businesses preparing for changes in 2020

SALISBURY, Md. – Salisbury officials say 2019 was a pretty good year for mom and pop shops in the area.

City leaders tell 47 ABC, Salisbury saw a lot of growth and fortunately not too many businesses closed. That’s a big difference from the almost 9-thousand store closings, across the nation, that US retailers reported for the year. Officials say the holidays have given local businesses a boost but in general their sales are average. Now they’re looking to the new year, expecting a few changes.

“Retailers are nervous. We have a minimum wage increase that kicks in. The next stage kicks in January 1st. There still concerned about the ‘R-word’ the recession word and that really impacts small business more than it does these large retailers. They can absorb those kinds of recessionary hits. Small businesses can’t,” says Bill Chambers, the President and CEO of the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce.

Salisbury officials say exciting things will be announced at the airport within the next 30 days. There’s also more than 200,000 square feet of space available in Salisbury that’s either permanent, currently under renovation or under construction for commercial spaces.