The opening of a new discount store and the promise of a new business in the former J.C. Penney location is exactly the kind of growth area business leaders work hard not to forget.

Natchez leaders say the retail growth is a sign that recruiting a variety of businesses — along with large industries — should be a top priority in helping the city’s economy soar.

“A company is a company the way I look at it, and all of them are going to bring jobs and revenue to our area,” Natchez Chamber of Commerce President Debbie Hudson said. “Whether it’s a large industry coming to the port or a retail business, these all mean more jobs and money for our community, so we need to be doing everything we can to bring all of those here to our community.”

Roses Express, an addition to the growing Roses Discount Stores chain, was the most recent addition to Natchez’s retail market, opening a location last week on U.S. 61 at Morgantown Plaza next to Natchez Markets.

Roses Discount Stores have announced plans to open a total of 18 new Roses stores throughout 2014, which will add to their current 157 Roses stores and 30 Roses Express stores currently in operation. The company operates stores in Woodville, Fayette and Jackson, as well as several in Louisiana cities.

Senior management representatives with Variety Wholesalers Inc., the company that operates Roses, gathered with Natchez officials Thursday for the store’s grand opening.

Variety Wholesalers and Roses Discount Stores’ President Wilson Sawyer said Natchez was a perfect fit for the company.

“This is just a great market that has the right kind of mix that we’re looking for,” Sawyer said. “It was just a natural fit for us and what our company is trying to do, which is provide everyday low prices to our customers.”

Sawyer said the cooperation company representatives received from city and chamber of commerce officials was a pleasant surprise and one of which he feels like other businesses should take note.

“We’ve opened stores in towns that you would think they didn’t want us there by how many things they make you go through,” Sawyer said. “It can be a hassle in some places, but the cooperation we received in Natchez was unlike anything we had ever seen.

“It helped us open the store faster, and just made the entire experience that much better.”

Those sorts of comments are exactly what Natchez Mayor Butch Brown said he enjoys hearing from any company coming to town, but especially from a large retail chain that brought 40 jobs with it.

“These are very important jobs and are just as important to our growth and development of our city as a higher paying job for an engineer or something along those lines,” Brown said. “These people taking these jobs need to work, and it’s helping improve the quality of life here and is really very important to the economy of our city.”

The addition of Roses to Natchez’s retail options, Brown said, will only help the city offer its residents and visitors more things to do and more reasons not to leave the area to do their shopping.

That’s why Brown would like to see more emphasis be placed on the recruitment of retail stores and businesses in Natchez.

“There are some shortcomings in only bringing primarily smokestack businesses to the area, and I think we should be doing more to invest in the recruitment of retail into our city,” Brown said. “When you have plenty of retailers in the area who keep good, regular open weekend hours it gives the people that live here and who come here to visit a chance to have the best experience and not see a town full of closed or empty windows.”

The most recent empty windows in Natchez came earlier this month, when the Natchez Mall J.C. Penney closed its doors after 60 years of serving Natchez customers.

The store was one of 30 across the country to close in a decision made by the company’s corporate office.

The decision took a major retailer that opened in 1954 in Natchez away from the area, but also left 55 people without jobs.

“I hated seeing them go, because they had been in Natchez so long and were really a part of this area,” Natchez Mall Manager Marie Lofton said. “It hurt us, but that’s part of life, I suppose.”

The store’s departure left a large portion of the mall vacant, Lofton said, but a new business could be on the horizon.

“We can’t discuss a lot of the details right now because they’re still working on a lot of the details, but they’re considering splitting the store and putting two businesses in there,” Lofton said. “These things don’t happen overnight but once it does, it will be a good thing for the community.”

The new company’s arrival is one Hudson said she hopes is the first of many for Natchez.

“The more things we can have in this community to offer residents and visitors means they’re not leaving town,” Hudson said. “It means those people are shopping locally and staying here, which is what we need.”