New to Logan
When one thinks of Cache Valley, one doesn’t exactly think of a booming metropolis.
There are, after all, more animal noises and smells than skyscrapers.
Yet, the valley’s population of over 100,000 people – 102,477 to be exact – is enough to make it a metropolitan area for businesses.
“With that designation, it kind of puts you on the radar map for businesses and companies,” Kirk Jensen, economic development analyst for Logan City, said.
Long-time students are noticing the changes the metropolitan mark is making.
“It just seems that more of the chain stores are making their way up here,” Ryan Scoffield, a junior majoring in English, said.
For several students, this weekend is a sign of those changes. Kohl’s opened this weekend with Starbucks Coffee and Men’s Warehouse looking at the places next door.
“Kohls! I’m major excited about that one!” Janna Allred, deaf education major, said of the new store on North Logan’s Main Street. The store’s grand opening is this weekend.
District manager of Kohl’s, Mike Whatley, said that a store in Logan was the natural move for the company. The store is developing in all metropolitan centers in the state, and Logan is one of those.
Students are a target market for stores in the valley. Kohl’s will feature Aggie apparel and logo items. Whatley also said that he likes to hire college students because “they love to work nights and weekends.”
Another manager sifting through mounds of applications is Café Rio. Students came back to school this fall and found Blockbuster gone and this popular Mexican restaurant in its place. The restaurant opens Oct. 20.
“Why not Cache Valley?” Corporate Manager Gianni Santamaria said. “We just thought Logan was a natural place to go.
Costa Vida, a similar-style restaurant, opened near Sam’s Club this year. Both are proof of the valley’s metropolitan status.
Students also make an impression on how Logan’s economy moves. Campus is on the north side of Logan and that’s where the business has developed over the past 20 years, especially since road closures in the past have made downtown Logan harder to access.
Less business makes developers work harder to attract customers, however, and two big developments with restaurants and retail should liven the area in the next five years.
“It’s got some good things to offer, but obviously needs a shot in the arm,” Jensen said.
Not everyone, including students, like to see the development.
Jessica Johnson, a graduate student in family, consumer and human development, likes Logan’s “old-school” feel. She’s liked Costa Vida since it came in, but she also likes Angie’s.
“We’re just getting everything,” she said. “I don’t really like to see a lot of growth in Logan, but we need it.”
USU economics professor L. Dwight Israelsen looks at Logan’s long-term future and worries that the type of business Logan has won’t keep graduates in the valley.
“I think we’ve got a fairly heavy balance toward retail right now and I think we need more of what we’d call a high-tech balance to come in,” Israelsen said. “Those are what would help us raise our standard of living.”
He’d like to see more university spin-offs, like Hyclone, and the local governments competing for high-tech facilities instead of retail.
“These would be jobs that would hire engineers and computer science (graduates), and they would probably provide a lot of higher-paying jobs for students,” he said. He compares it to being a bagger at Macey’s or working as a lab technician.
“It’s going to require more skills, but students have those skills. I think the Space Dynamics Lab is a good example of that. It provides a lot of jobs for students as part of their program.”
Still, bright “coming soon” signs are what excite students.
“It’s about time Logan catches up with everyone,” Sarah Reale, junior, said of Kohl’s.
-natandrews@cc.usu.edu