ROANOKE, Va. – A unique job fair specifically geared toward downtown Roanoke businesses drew a wide range of job seekers Wednesday, with local business owners hoping to boost both their workforce and the community as a whole.

Doloris Vest, owner of Do not book furthera local bookstore, says that while applications are high, finding qualified candidates is still a challenge.

“One of the things we run into is a lot of people don’t understand what our specific job is,” Vest explained. “We say it’s about 25% books and about 75% business.”

Several businesses in downtown Roanoke are still feeling the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many have been forced to temporarily close, and while some have fully reopened, retaining qualified staff remains a struggle.

However, Mast General Store was fortunate enough to retain most of its staff during the pandemic. The store is now looking for part-time sales associates after managing to bring back nearly all of its staff following a six-week closure.

“Our store was fully staffed, we had to ask everyone to go home, and then six weeks later we had to ask them to come back,” General Manager Olivia Kind said. “We were fortunate that the vast majority of them came back to work for us.”

The job fair was open to applicants from all walks of life, with organizers emphasizing the importance of supporting local businesses. Locally owned small shops are at the heart of the community’s economic recovery.

Downtown Roanoke Inc. was one of the organizers of the local job fair. Izzy Post is the Marketing and Communications Director for the group and helped people register when they arrived at the job fair.

“A lot of these places are small businesses,” Post said. “It’s your neighbors, your friends who own these businesses, and by hiring your neighbors, it keeps the money local. It’s a great way to not only highlight what we have here, but also those small businesses.”

As the downtown continues to recover, business owners hope that filling jobs will revitalize the neighborhood and bring more energy and economic activity to the area.

“When I started, I was working alone and someone said you don’t have colleagues,” Vest added. “I said no, I have a lot of colleagues because you get to know people in other companies.”

The event was part of a broader effort to strengthen ties between businesses and foster a sense of shared recovery in downtown Roanoke.