New Businesses Welcomed To Main
The Water Valley Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors and Mayor Donald Gray welcomed three news businesses with a ribbon cutting Saturday morning. Owners Craig Swanner and Stephen Wood opened Down Range Outdoors, Main Street Fitness and Water Valley Nutrition in May and June.
WATER VALLEY – There was a strong turnout for Saturday’s grand opening for three new businesses on South Main Street in Water Valley. Main Street Fitness, Down Range Outdoors and Water Valley Nutrition are owned and operated by brothers and business partners Stephen Wood and Craig Swanner. The three businesses occupy one of three new 7,000 square feet buildings constructed by the brothers this year.
“We are here to celebrate this development, the businesses opening and the new jobs,” Wood reported after Water Valley Mayor Donald Gray and the Water Valley Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors cut the ribbon officially welcoming the additions to the city.
Main Street Fitness opened in May followed by Down Range Outdoors and Water Valley Nutrition in June. Although the construction and business launches came in the height of the global pandemic, the owners reported strong support from the community has made a big difference.
“We are close to goal five months in,” Wood reported about the growth at Main Street Fitness.
Water Valley Nutrition was an added bonus for the location, as initially the brothers planned to only offer protein shakes inside the gym before acquiring the existing business that was located on North Main. They moved it alongside Main Street Fitness, an addition that allowed a full line-up of loaded teas to accompany the shakes.
“We definitely have a following when it comes to the loaded teas, people love them,” Swanner noted. “I never had one before we acquired the company and I get one almost every day. They are good and good for you, low in calories and loaded with vitamins.”
Down Range Outdoors offers hunting apparel, guns and outdoor items with inventory that will change with the seasons.
“It has been very challenging, orders were hard to get,” Wood reported about stocking inventory at the store.
“There are a lot of hunting stores that are in the same boat we are in, I constantly get phones calls from customers who are looking for items who are checking different stores all around,” Swanner explained.
Swanner and Wood continue to market the remaining two buildings and report the interest is strong. A contract is in place for a tenant in one of the buildings and an announcement about the new business is expected within the next 30 to 60 days.
Craig Swanner tests the official Chamber scissors on Stephen Wood to make sure they are sharp enough to cut the ribbon.
