For a small town like Pennsville to thrive. A lot of things have to go right. And when we look back at the breakout of the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020. Pennsville was facing a potentially gloomy uncertain future. Piles of rubble on one property, a fire, projects near completion had stalled, and vacant buildings with no signs of business coming in. Countless small towns across America were crippled by the Covid restrictions in place and many have still never recovered.
So now here we are near the end of 2023 and it is absolutely astonishing what this town has accomplished since that depressing chapter when our hope and faith were shaken. The Shipyard and The Engine House have brought back beautiful scenery and cutting edge idealism into our community from a social gathering standpoint. The Bluebird Diner finally opened and it has been so nice to see that renovated building come back to life again. And across the street from there, Mucho Loco Mexican Restaurant has built a steady following that continues to grow. Famous Sgt. Bob Smoke BBQ & Grill has been so successful it moved to a bigger location. And the Tropic Bowls restaurant is nearing completion and will be ready to serve customers in the near future.
Artiztic Creations Garden Center has been fantastic with a friendly and knowledgeable ownership in charge. Harbor Freight has been a welcome addition for hardware and home improvement needs. And you can sense that all of this expansion in business ventures is just beginning. Pennsville experienced some lean times but the town stuck together. Its tenacity is a shining example of what’s happening now. A desire to be better then before. We have beautiful parks. Fort Mott and Riverview Beach for some wonderful year round events. Some with long traditions and now several others that are becoming traditional as well. And we can build off of that. And finally, the influx of new residents moving here and so glad they did. They chose us! And can be great assets to our growth. It has been gratifying to watch our town thrive in the face of adversity. A great rediscovery of who we are and what we can be.