It’s amazing how quickly change can happen. Just take the city of Linden for example. This fall Linden was hit with what seemed like an endless string of bad news on the labor front. Within a few weeks, Linden Lumber was reduced to a skeleton crew, Caurester announced it was closing after more than 25 years and the old popular hangout, Dairy Queen, was forever closing its doors.

Now things are changing. Aside from a substantial beautification project, renovated high school gym and the announcement of a forthcoming Alabama Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife Museum to Linden, the city will soon be host to three new restaurants.

Opening soon will be 2 Hot Tamales, 904 E. Coats Ave. in the old Big Bee building. It will serve Mexican, Hawaiian, and American style selections. El Vaquero Loco, a Mexican restaurant, will move into the old Dairy Queen building at 802 E. Coats Ave. It is owned and operated by the owners of El Ranchero Loco in Demopolis and Casa Grande in Jackson.

The third restaurant, The Whistle Stop, has been long anticipated. It will be located in the old Bullets building on Hwy 43 across from city hall.

The new editions are certainly causing quite a stir in Linden, and they should be. While the city’s current dining opportunities may be great places to eat, there is simply not that much to choose from in Linden. This has caused a lot of people to travel to Demopolis or other places for a variety of eating establishments.

Now, residents in Linden, and people passing through, can have a wider variety to choose from. More people will stay in Linden to eat and spend more money there as well. It’s great news for a city that is striving to reclaim lost sales tax revenue from a series of layoffs and a sluggish economy.