Out with the Old, In with the New

By: Jena Sweeten

In Homer, New York, there are a number of good restaurants that have been around for a while. 

Dashers has been open for a couple of years, and is located on Main Street. In the summer of 2023, a new restaurant opened nearby, The Exchange, creating competition for Dashers.   

Supporting local restaurants is important because many depend on them for employment, including teenagers looking for work. 

With a new restaurant opening in a small town, more people want to experience what is fresh and new. The menus at each restaurant are drastically different. 

Also, less people are going out to eat in general because of prices and economic factors. In many cases, there are more workers than customers. 

A local single mother that works at Dashers reflected on the new restaurant’s impact on the Homer dining scene: “Yes. There had been less and less families, couples, and friends coming out to eat ever since the Coronavirus. With the new restaurant opening up it became worse. More customers wanted to go eat there because it was a fresh place in Homer."

She added: “I think people are going to get over it because it’s a small town with limited restaurant options. I think it’s just a new place in a small town for now."

Supporting local businesses is important because it allows people to stay open, and it allows the residents to have different options. 

Growth in Homer may prove to be good for business.