There’s nothing that gets people talking more than the closure or opening of a local restaurant. We have to admit that it even surprises us sometimes how much people are invested — at least on social media — in local eateries.

Those kinds of stories often get hundreds of shares and dozens of comments on our social media channels, and often result in more discussion than a story we spend days or weeks working on.

People love food, us included. And just like readers, when a new restaurant comes to town we get excited too.

It’s a new place to eat, a new option for a date night and a change from the normal routine.

Of course, as restaurants open, many close as well.

Unfortunately, we broke the news about the closure of Momma Goldberg’s in West Point in Tuesday’s paper. That’s the second downtown restaurant to close in West Point in the last five months, following Joe’s Tex Mex. The restaurants closed for different reasons — some of those reasons are still unknown — and their closures mean little about the future of other restaurants in the area.

However, it is a little alarming that two of West Point’s downtown restaurants have closed within five months of one another. There are still plenty of other options — Johnny’s Pizza, Coaches and Pokey’s come to mind, among others — and West Point still has plenty of restaurants for a city its size.

Still, for a city with so much positive momentum in 2019 following the Super Bowl, it’s unfortunate to have two restaurants shut their doors in such a short timeframe. Both restaurants were open for approximately one year before closing their doors, a very short timeline to determine the success or failure of anything.

We’re sure that’s something city leaders will discuss, though they have little control over what a private business owner does.

All of that brings us full circle to where we started. Facebook commenters had a lot to say about Momma Goldberg’s in the wake of the closure. There were many positive comments about the restaurant and the food, and it’s clear there were people in West Point that wanted it to succeed.

However, it’s also pretty easy to ascertain that if it was making money, it’d probably still be open. 

Remember, if you enjoy shopping at a business or eating somewhere locally, support that business by spending money there.

Local community support isn’t the only factor on whether a business makes money, but it is the biggest factor.