Friday, open houses were being hosted for two new businesses in Sister Lakes: Libby Ann’s and Lakehouse Creations.

We are happy to hear the announcement of these businesses and wish them the best of luck in creating a home and loyal customer base in the lakeside community.

The announcement of these two new businesses comes not long after the opening of Propaganda Pizza, a new restaurant in the area. Propaganda Pizza joins The Strand, which celebrates its second anniversary this week, and Sister Lakes Brewing Company, which celebrated its third anniversary this month, in the revitalization of Sister Lakes’ food scene.

After years of Sister Lakes residents saying that the community was shrinking, we are heartened to so many new businesses opening at once in the area. Thriving businesses lead to a thriving community — and we want to see Sister Lakes thrive once again. Though technically a part of Dowagiac, Sister Lakes is a community all its own. It has so much to offer — not the least of which are the beautiful lakes it sits on. Sister Lakes is a community of history (have you ever heard of the Dewey Lake Monster?) and community.

We want to see Sister Lakes continue to grow and be the thriving community residents describe it being 30, 40 and 50 years ago.

Hopefully, the openings of these new businesses are the start of that revitalization and the start of even more companies coming to the area.

So, best of luck to Libby Ann’s and Lakehouse Creations. We hope that their openings signal that there is more to come in Sister Lakes.

Opinions expressed are those of general manager Ambrosia Neldon, managing editor Sarah Culton and sports editor Scott Novak.