SALISBURY, N.C. -- Two major employers have announced they are closing their doors in Salisbury.
Diane Greene with the Rowan County Economic Development Corporation said W.A. Brown and Son is closing.
"The company's been there for over a hundred years," she said.
And Coca-Cola also just announced they will close the doors to their operations in Salisbury.
"You just didn't think that was going to happen," said Greene. "Oh, it just gives you a sinking feeling."
W.A. Brown and Son is not far down the road from the Checkered Flag BBQ on South Main Street. Waitresses there say employees from both companies would frequent the restaurant for lunch.
"It would be a full restaurant," said Angela Alexander, who has worked at the restaurant for more than a dozen years.
She says on payday Fridays employees, "Would always come up here and eat lunch on their way from the bank."
But this Friday there were more empty seats than usual.
"It was slow today," said Alexander. "There's been a lot of customers who have come and gone throughout the years and that's who I really think about."
Greene said, "W.A. Brown is just a hometown name. Everybody knows where they are and what they do."
On Nov. 6 the company laid off its 98 employees, saying orders for their commercial freezers had slumped.
Just down the road, the news from Coca-Cola isn't quite as bad. The 40 employees there were given a chance at jobs in the company's other locations.
A spokesperson for the company told NewsChannel 36 the move is necessary because their Salisbury building was built as a bottling plant. It was then converted to a distribution center, but its age and its layout no longer suit the operations there.
As these two historic businesses leave town, there's hope new jobs might soon take their place.
"Even with the bad news we've still got good news," Greene said. "There are three companies, which are actually expanding in Rowan County. Freightliner, Henkel, and PGT Inc., are all expanding here."
Still, after thousands of jobs left the county this year, the general feeling for many is exactly what Alexander is thinking.
"They say it's getting better but I don't think it is," she said.
