Restaurants in Niles suffered from MCI loss

Restaurant workers hope the new phone center will boost business.
NILES -- Standing behind the counter at Jay's Famous Hot Dogs, Randy Anderson folds boxes.
Only one other employee works behind the grill as the dining room of the Youngstown-Warren Road eatery sits empty. Just two vehicles sit in the parking lot, which stretches back to the former MCI call center, vacant since June.
"We suffered incredibly by losing MCI," the partner in the local chain said Tuesday. "This end of town has really needed something."
Some have closed
Anderson's hands never stop working as he points out neighboring businesses, mostly restaurants, that closed since MCI moved out.
Many of the restaurants relied heavily on the 700 workers from MCI, Anderson said. When the businesses left, so did the customers.
"Pizza Hut across the street and P.J. Snappers next door both closed up the same week, about a month ago," Anderson said. "Then we lost Circuit City when it moved to the other side of the mall."
Two pizza shops have come and gone in the plaza across the street, he added.
"We've been lucky, because we've been aggressive in delivering to local businesses," he said.
A good sign
But Anderson said he looks at Tuesday's announcement by the West Corp. of Omaha, Neb., as a sign that things could turn around.
West Corp. confirmed Tuesday plans to open a new customer contact center and create 880 full-time jobs at the former MCI call center.
It's a relief to Anderson, who said even customers outside the former MCI center have dropped off since the business closed.
Things change
"We used to get people who would come in when they were stopped at that light," he said as he pointed out the front window to a flashing yellow signal on Youngstown-Warren Road.
"When we lost MCI, we lost the traffic and they changed the light," he said. "It just went down from there.
"We're very happy to see something done so quickly with that site. We need it."
slshaulis@vindy.com