BLUEFIELD — Faced with mounting job losses in Mercer and Tazewell counties, area officials admit the road ahead looks difficult. But they also remain cautiously optimistic.

For example, efforts to market the soon-to-be-closed Bluefield Beverage plant are already underway by Tazewell County officials. County Administrator Jim Spencer, county Economic Development Director Margie Douglass, and others have already met with Gov. Bob McDonnell to discuss the looming job losses, and are working with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to find a potential new tenant for the bottling company.

“Anything we do that is tied to economic development in Tazewell County, we are going to try to attract it very aggressively,” Spencer said. “It’s a shame that facility is closing, but what we are trying to do is come up with a plan where those employees can find a job. We did mention it to Gov. Bob McDonnell, and we’ve asked the state to help us go after a company that might be interested in that facility to continue the operation that is there. Our goal is to try to do the best we can to try to occupy that facility and it not just be an empty building in Tazewell County.”

Spencer said property at the Bluefield, Va., Industrial Park is still in demand, which should help with the efforts to market the bottling plant site.

“We just met with one company (Thursday) about an expansion,” Spencer said. “We are going to do everything we can to turn a negative situation into a positive. We are aggressively working on it, and have been since we got the word last Friday morning.”

The Mercer County Commission in return is working with Grant’s Supermarket with its ongoing efforts to acquire the soon-to-be-closed Kroger store on Cumberland Road, commissioner Mike Vinciguerra said.

“Right now we are working with Grant’s Supermarket to try to get Kroger to let them have the equipment that is in the building,” Vinciguerra said. “That would be nice. But even with the loss over on the Virginia side (of Bluefield Beverage) that hurts Mercer County too because a lot of people from Mercer County work there.”

Vinciguerra said the old Flowers Bakery building in Bluefield is still “tied up” and has not yet been placed on the market for sale. However, prospective tenants continue to look at the old Dean Company site in Princeton. The location would be ideal for a new manufacturing company, Vinciguerra said.

“I’ve talked to some people interested in the old Dean Company Building in Princeton,” Vinciguerra said. “And from what I understand too Olive Garden is interested in coming into Mercer County.”

Vinciguerra said other businesses in Mercer County are in fact hiring, but having trouble finding employees for specialized positions. In some instances, companies that require drug-testing as a pre-conditioning of employment are finding that potential employees are unwilling to be drug tested, Vinciguerra said.

“It is going to take a while to take care of all of the people that have lost their jobs with the closures, but I think it will come back,” Vinciguerra said. “We are working hard at it, and the development authority is working hard at it.”

Jay Mills, also a member of the commission, said Development Authority Director Janet Bailey is working to try to find new businesses and potential tenants for empty buildings. Mills said the commission also will write a letter to Kroger, and is working with U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., and U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., to find jobs.

The pending closure of Bluefield Beverage is particularly devastating to the town of Bluefield, Va.

Bluefield Beverage was the major consumer of Bluefield, Va.’s municipally-owned water company. Bluefield Beverage used 67 million gallons of water per year, compared to the 11.2 million gallons of water consumed by the 2,800 residential water customers who use the system, according to Town Manager Mike Watson.

The town — working in conjunction with county officials —  will actively search for a new tenant for the bottling company, said Bluefield, Va., Mayor Don Harris.

“We are in the process of starting our budget planning session for this upcoming year,” Harris said. “It will definitely have an impact upon our budget.”

Harris said town officials were in Richmond with several county officials when they received an “e-mail blast” on their cell phones informing them of the decision by Kroger to close its Bluefield store, and the Bluefield Beverage plant in Bluefield, Va.

“So we were all together, and we just couldn’t believe it,” Harris said. “But at the same time the negative news turned into something positive. Jim Spencer and Margie Bandy and other members of the economic development committee were all together. And they started saying what we needed to do.”

That led the group to ask McDonnell for help.

“The reaction was immediate from our county administrator, Margie Bandy and our Board of Supervisors representatives that we have to market the building,” Harris said.

Harris said the soon-to-be-empty site at the industrial park should be attractive to potential tenants.

“Yes I understand it is a tremendously large facility,” Harris said. “It’s a good location. So it would make an ideal location for a potential tenant of some sort.”

Harris said the road ahead still looks difficult, but he believes the future is still promising for Bluefield, Va.

“I think we are looking at some bumps ahead, but a positive thing in particular for Bluefield, Va., is Taco Bell,” Harris said. “They have some walls going up now. They have had some weather problems, and other particular minor problems to deal with. But once you see the walls go up, it should move quickly. We do everything we can in Bluefield, Va., to attract and keep businesses, and we will continue working aggressively in that direction.”

The city of Bluefield has been hit particularly hard by recent jobs losses, including the closure of Flowers Bakery, Kroger and the looming threat of the closure of Bluefield’s Mail Processing and Distribution Center.

Mayor Linda Whalen is encouraging city residents to rally behind the ongoing effort of Grant’s Supermarket to acquire the former Kroger site on Cumberland Road. In doing so, the city would retain a large grocery store, and long-time customers of the Kroger store on Cumberland Road would have a new grocery store to shop at.

But the challenge facing the city is far greater than just the threat of losing a grocery store. That’s why city officials are seeking professional help in the form of an economic development director. After a prolonged search for someone who  is capable of helping city officials attract and retain new jobs, the city Board of Directors appear to be closing in on their candidate.

“I think if you look at our whole country right now — most of the country is suffering with high unemployment,” Whalen said. “And I think the effects of that are starting to hit this area now. By this time next week, we hope to have our economic development director hired. So we are hoping this will help to turn the corner.”

Whalen said the city also continues to work with Rahall on the proposed Colonial Intermodal Center project. However, the large-scale transportation center envisioned for the city is contingent upon Congress approving a new long-term highway bill - and that’s something lawmakers have yet to be able to agree upon.

However, Whalen said city officials are continuing work on the project, and will soon begin drawing down the original $600,000 secured by Rahall to begin engineering work on the transit center project.

Mercer County Development Authority Director Janet Bailey said efforts are ongoing behind the scenes to attract new companies, restaurants and retail chains to Mercer County — several of which she can’t comment on at this time.

“We are still trying,” Bailey said. “We are working. I don’t think there is any stone that’s not been unturned when it comes to trying to attract industry and businesses. We will work closely with the state of West Virginia to determine potential incentives.”

Bailey said the old Dean Company property is privately owned, but the development authority is still working with companies who are interested in the site. Bailey said the old Flowers Bakery building is still not available for lease or purchase at this time, adding that the bakery retains ownership of buildings after they are closed for a period of time. However, she expects the building to be placed on the market at some point in the future.

“On the Grant’s deal, everybody has been involved with that,” Bailey said. “That’s a city, state and federal cooperation. The county commission has offered their support, and we’ve been in contact with state and federal officials. Everyone is involved, and wants to see what we can do to help Grant’s acquire that building. There are also some other things underway to absorb some of the job losses that led to Bluefield Beverage.”

Bailey said the development authority is working to entice two high-quality restaurants that would be new to the Mercer County area. The restaurants are currently looking at the Princeton area. Bailey said she could not comment on rumors about a new large-scale national chain that may be looking at the Princeton area as well.

Bailey said her office has submitted about 30 to 40 sites in the Bluefield area for Sheetz to review. The company is looking to expand into the Bluefield area. However, she said the company also is looking at sites in Bluefield, Va., in addition to Bluefield.

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com