I'm sure you have noticed like the rest of us the awful trend that is going on here in Bismarck and Mandan...

....and throughout North Dakota, and around the country - "Out of Business" - those signs seem to show up suddenly without much warning in restaurants and businesses. Places that at one time flourished with customers and had a full staff running around with smiles on their faces seemed to go dark overnight. There has been a lot of talk on social media lately with some of the same questions - "If Bismarck is experiencing an unusual amount of restaurants that have had to make that dreaded decision and close their doors for good, then WHY are some new places being built as we speak?

I see their frustration, will we be able to support the new businesses?

Who knows? There are many factors as to why so many places have closed recently, the most common one is that they all seemed to be understaffed. That was the critical dagger that caused owners to call it quits. So if a new place has its grand opening soon, how much longer after that will the glamour wear down, and this sad trend will take over their establishment?

Today I saw the struggle firsthand of a local businessman

I won't say his name or his place, I will tell you how much love this man puts in behind his 13-14 hour days, 7 days a week job. He is the owner, and he is doing a job of 3-4 employees ( because that's how many he has lost recently ). I saw the pain in his eyes when he told me of the daily struggles it takes to keep his business afloat. Look, I know we all work hard and we all have our own daily pressures, but some people lack any empathy toward those that are just barely making it, those that are literally a day or two away from giving up, and joining the rest that has hung up a "Going Out Of Business" sign.

So....what can we do?

We can do our best to understand what they are going through and support them in any way we can.


 

RANKED: Here are the most popular national parks

To determine the most popular national parks in the United States, Stacker compiled data from the National Park Service on the number of recreational visits each site had in 2020. Keep reading to discover the 50 most popular national parks in the United States, in reverse order from #50 to #1. And be sure to check with individuals parks before you visit to find out about ongoing, pandemic-related safety precautions at www.nps.gov/coronavirus.

More From Cool 98.7 FM