05-03-2025
How locally owned businesses help small towns
RAINELLE, WV (WVNS) – Rainelle is a town that once suffered from a lack of booming businesses and a large number of people leaving the area.
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During recent years, this town has really turned a corner, with businesses popping up all around town.
The Coal Creek Salon Boutique opened in October 2024.
Owner and operator Christi Sims said that she has seen a lot of positive change throughout the community since their opening.
'We are providing a service not only through the Boutique within and also hair care services, and I think that brings people that were going other places to shop at, bringing them back to the town that they live in, where they can buy the stuff they need instead of having to go elsewhere,' said Sims.
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This new shop offers folks something a little different than what you would expect in a small town. It provides a place for people to get their hair cut locally as well as a place to shop for clothes, beauty supplies, and much more.
Sims told 59News her shop is not the only one that is bettering their community. There are several other businesses in Rainelle that have really helped the town and its residents be able to stay closer to home.
Places like these even give opportunities for employment to locals – something that is a boom in every community.
'We're hoping to add a nail tech, a hairstylist, and other things over time. Small towns need these things, so they do not just die off and people move into the bigger towns,' added Sims.
Sims recently moved to Rainelle in the summer of 2024. Since then, she has easily integrated into the community. She said the feeling of belonging is in no small part thanks to the people she gets to be around in the town.
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'The people here are wonderful. They are so kind. [My husband and I] have not met one person yet that that has not been super welcoming and so and so nice. They check on you when you need help, or [even when] they think you might need help. It is just a great community and people that have not been to Rainelle in a while need to come back and visit just to see how it has changed,' said Sims.
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