have to leave the county to shop or for entertainment .”
Cindy Alcorn : “ A restaurant that has home cooked meals and has a place for kids to play .”
Khristen Lewis : “ Since Somerset is known as a ‘ tourist ’ town , I think we should embrace what we ’ re known for . The lake . For those that don ’ t have boats , lake toys ( such as jet skis and etc ), have stuff for EVERYONE to enjoy . Such as zip lining across lake , something like The Wilderness of the smokies , restaurants and nightlife along lake like The River Walk in San Antonio , etc .
Our ‘ mall ’ needs completely gutted and renovated or torn down and rebuilt . It ’ s been calling out for a renovation for 30 + years . Carpet included ! We need some legit shops here so we don ’ t have to travel 45min + for everything . There ’ s only so much you can get at boutiques and the dollar store !
We need restaurants- something with entertainment , something quiet for the ones that don ’ t like the rowdiness ( for example I know a lot of ‘ older ’ folks don ’ t care for places like Roadhouse cause they say it ’ s too loud . They like the food , but hate sitting in there ), something for game / fight nights like Buffalo Wild Wings , Dave and Busters , Pints and Pizza , Austin City .
We desperately need something for our kids ! Our bowling alley is awful . Needs gutted and renovated . A movie tavern . Something like Malibu Jacks . Axe Throwing / Bow Shooting . Escape Rooms . Skating place needs redone . Etc . CAREER Opportunities !!!!!!”
Morgan Bryant : “ I second all of the Sam ’ s Clubs , Home Depots , etc ... What I really have missed and wish we still had was Fun Country , that tops all my other choices . Would love to see recreational Go-cart tracks and Bumper Boats , batting cages , laser tag , zip lines and bridge courses , with an arcade that still includes pin ball machines and a mini golf course to boot . We need something fun like that with it all in one place and in a good location so ppl know it ’ s here . Oh , and to add I ’ d like to see a break room . One of those places that gives you safety gear and you get to pick what you use to smash everything , lol . Axe throwing and in-door shooting range . We all could use a little fun and stress relief , lol .”
Mike Marples : “ Entertainment , especially family friendly and teen options . Somerset continues to grow but residents have to travel outside the county to find things to do . Target or Best Buy would be a welcome addition as well .”
Jerri Valentour Palmer : “ We need a children ’ s clothing store ! The places that sell them are sold out most of the time , of all sizes . A real sit down Italian restaurant , and a sit down seafood restaurant . And a good Chinese restaurant !”
Kelly Russell : “ Although we have numerous chicken places already - would love to have a Raising Canes ! Definitely an upscale mall too !
Leslie Hoskins Caudill : “ Dave & Buster ’ s ( we need more entertainment businesses )”
Thomas Alvey : “ Not a corporation , but I ’ d love to see a center with escape rooms , rage rooms , maybe axe throwing ?”
Carrie Lee Miracle : “ Since we ’ re already a tourist town . How about a theme park ? Actually centered around family entertainment , smaller scale but similar to Dollywood with rides .”
Lesley Anne Stringer : “ Target , Old Navy , Panera Bread , Panda Express , a trampoline park , a public pool- just a pool , I don ’ t need a water slide , and a cheap rate to get in ), nicer / bigger dog parks , more dog friendly businesses ”
Kathy Bishop : “ I would love to see something like a Malibu Jack ’ s on a smaller scale with bowling lanes , miniature golf , climbing features , and other indoor activities for kids . Lexington repurposed their old KMart building for Malibu Jack ’ s , and it ’ s a huge draw for kids and adults . Our former KMart location would be perfect for that unless there ’ s something already in the pipeline of which I ’ m not aware .”
Mike Bales : “ A venue that would allow ALL kinds of music ! Other cities have places for local artists to play except here . Yes , we can listen to singer / songwriters , and I love that , but there ’ s so many others we are missing out on .”
April Adams : “ New stores would be great . But we really need to focus on fixing what we have like the mall , bowling alley , putt putt course , flea market , etc . What if we helped build up local businesses . When I try and sell real estate to out if towners they are always terribly disappointed with those things .”
Hunter Ard : “ Comedy club , 5 Guys , tear down the mall and do something productive with the space , a kayak store for locals and tourists to buy / rent , indoor shooting range to go with our 10 different Pawn Shops / Big Box Stores / Local Gun Shop that sells firearms , put Target in the old Kmart building to give that plaza life again , Best Buy for a place to buy quality electronics and not constant Walmart knockoffs , Red Lobster , and for God ’ s Sake can we PLEASE have some Escape Rooms or VR Rooms for some entertainment so we don ’ t have to drive 1-3 hrs away from town just to do something that isn ’ t that hard to provide !”
Michelle Belvedere : “ It ’ s not retail , but it would be great if Somerset had emergency vets . I needed one a few days ago . Called every vet in town , the only one that called back was in bowling green . I had to wait until the next day to take him . It would be great to have a vet that would do house calls .”
Danielle Calhoun : “ Oh I ’ ve waited so long for this ! We need more stuff to do ! Go karts , arcade , renovate the bowling alley , better mall , air raid . All we have here is restaurants , banks , and car lots ! I would love somewhere fun to take my kids , besides Mr . Gattis which is very very outdated ! Any time I want to take my kids somewhere fun I have to go out of town like Lexington or Tennessee !”
Cassondra Nicole Bowlin : “ Need an
June 2022 SEKY - Life in Southeast Kentucky • 41