CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – The City of Conway currently has just over 1,700 businesses, but the city’s Chamber of Commerce is looking to increase that number to make Conway more marketable on a national level.“Conway is a wonderful place to do business, and it seems to be catching on throughout the country,” said Vice President of Economic Development for the Conway Chamber of Commerce, Gary Lee. “We’ve had quite a few companies in retail interested in coming to our area.”
Lee said the Chamber is actively recruiting 75 businesses to come to Conway, and retail companies and restaurants are what the city needs most.
He said they are also taking into consideration how current business owners feel about this potential growth. The Chamber will be putting out a survey this week for current business owners to voice their opinion.
“Recruit new businesses and support existing businesses, and in that process, hear what our existing businesses need,” said Lee.
Conway businesswoman Felicia Hunt works at Fair Fashions and Formal Wear in downtown Conway. She says bringing in a large number of new businesses could potentially hurt the storefronts that are already in Conway.
“A lot of us probably wouldn’t want anyone to come into the city and take the business we already have,” said Hunt. “However, I feel like the new businesses will also be an upgrade.”
With the Chamber actively recruiting, that also means more jobs could be coming to Conway. The names of the companies cannot be released right now because all details have not been finalized.