GLENDALE, Ky. (LEX 18) — If it's the small-town charm you're looking for, Glendale is where you want to be.
"How would you describe the community here?" LEX18 reporter asked Mountain Mike's Coffee House owner, Jewel-Beth Whidden. "I would always say it's like a little Hallmark town," Whidden responded.
Now that Ford Motor Company is coming to town and bringing 5,000 jobs with it, she is working to expand her coffee house and add a drive-thru to accommodate the influx of new people.
"Glendale is only getting bigger!" she said.
And she believes growth will benefit those who live in the area.
"All of the value that comes with so many more people, with more people there's just more money put into a town," she said. "With more money, we can just do a bunch of things for the community."
Mike Cummins shares this optimism.
"The state and the county will bring in a lot of additional monies for infrastructure improvements," Cummins said. "I mean I know we're probably going to get updated roads systems and things like that. Yes, there's going to be more commuters, there's going to be more freight train traffic going in and out of the new facility, there's going to be more people moving in, but that's all part of progress."
Glendale native Jeff Key is also thrilled about the new plant.
"I think it's one of the best things that's happened to Glendale in a long time," he said.
With more people coming to the area, locals said the community has to work to keep Glendale unique and quaint, but they have faith they can do it.
"We will maintain that by the atmosphere and the hospitality and the ambiance of downtown Glendale, and I think all of our local people and merchants make sure that all stays in place," Cummins said.
They said the creation of a new bypass will also help. The plan now is to have it divert traffic around downtown.
"We can still keep that small hometown charm because, I don't know, Glendale just has it," Whidden said.
"I think that we'll have to work hard with the leaders to make sure that we maintain the small-town feel, which we will," Key said. "I think that it's just going to be one of those things that we have to make sure that we all work together on moving forward to maintain the integrity of a small village."
