Rumors, Rumors, Rumors- Lowes not Closing

By Sid Riley
During this week rumors have been flying. I suppose the impending closure of our beloved Beall’s Department Store has shoppers very jumpy. All you have to do is listen to the doom and gloom spouted every day on television news stations and you can easily become victim to a "chicken little" mentality.
One of the newest and most extreme rumors that is going around the county is the rumor that Lowe’s is planning to close after the holiday season. This was followed by similar rumors about Sonny’s Bar-B-Q, Ruby Tuesday’s, and others. The sky seemed to be falling…at least out at our I-10 interchange.
In response to these predictions I contacted Mr. Mike Brenner, District Manager of Lowe’s for this area. He confirmed that he had also heard all of these rampant rumors, and wanted the opportunity to stop any further spreading of this negative news.
"We are proud of our Marianna location, are very profitable here, our chain is still expanding, we just opened a new store in DeFuniak Springs, and we are not…I repeat …we are NOT planning to close our store in Marianna, " he stated clearly and firmly.
After talking to Mr. Brenner I decided to go across the street to Sonny’s to talk to their management, but they were so busy I couldn’t find a parking space…so I gave up and returned to the Jackson County Times offices. It appears the sky is not falling after all.