On Tap from the Pub

Dan Mirolli

By Tom Field

Executive Summary:

If you take delight in divining the future, here’s a view for our business and economic front.

I see…

As publisher of our regional business journal—and more significantly—just being a native and lifetime observer of what happens in our market here, I get a sense, an intuition, when something is about to change and something big is about to happen.

Strictly business-speaking, you can look back at our journal’s history and see some of the milestones per industry. We hit on the craft brewing craze just as the very first one re-entered the scene here in our Star City. Of course that was followed by an explosion of brewery and pub selections within a few hops of each other. The same happened with medical research, drones, and other topics. Don’t believe me? Check out our archives and compare the timelines at vbfront.com/IssueArchive. html.

But don’t call me for stock advice; most of our predictions are pre-IPO.

One of my favorite issues was May 2009, where we had Dr. Larry Lynch, a business and econ professor from Roanoke College, who suited up in Swami-esque garb, complete with a crystal ball. He and other business leaders provided their prognostications on what our future might look like here in Virginia’s Blue Ridge and Southwest Virginia. I even met with a Psychic on Roanoke’s Williamson Road for her reading. (She said at the time it was tough, but we’d be ok two years down the road.)

That was fun. We might revisit that idea.

So, what’s happening in my gut? What inklings cause me to see past the current business and economic horizon?

I’m not entirely sure. But if I was slapping down Tarot cards on a table in front of you in a house on the side of Williamson Road, this is what I’m seeing…

There’s a widening gap.

I think most of us would agree we’re all seeing divisions in so many social-political arenas, in the areas of income classes, political parties, race, and religion. In the business-econ world, the split may not be all bad. But it will require our attention.

I believe we’re losing the middle segment of our chain.

We’ll still have big business; corporations that grow to mammoth, near-monopoly status. And we’ll have