New businesses hopeful for 2017

Local people who recently opened new businesses in Morgan City are hopeful and counting on the region's economy to improve in 2017.
The St. Mary Chamber of Commerce held ribbon cuttings for two Morgan City businesses last week, Labco Batteries and Kimbla's Cakes.
Labco owner Lee Babin said the store actually opened in August 2016. Babin, who’s originally from Houma, moved to Morgan City four years ago.
Babin started the battery business to diversify the types of businesses he has.
He owns other businesses in the area, including Morgan City Stevedores, which works with the Port of Morgan City loading and unloading barges and ships.
Kim Carinhas, owner of Kimbla's Cakes, was in business for 6-1/2 years as Sweet Sensations by Kim in Jennings, she said in an email. She recently married and relocated to Morgan City and started her business here in July.
“It was a scary decision to reopen in a new location and start over,” Carinhas said.
For Babin, sales, like the rest of the region, have been "way down," but he’s optimistic the economy will change soon. Still, Babin doesn't expect to see a pickup in business until the second quarter of 2017.
Labco sells all kinds of batteries from AAAs to “heavy equipment 8Ds,” for items, such as, wheelchairs, golf carts, cars, trucks, boats and lawnmowers, just to name a few, he said.
The price of oil has been staying around $50 per barrel recently after dipping to as low as $26 during the downturn, he said. Babin hopes it'll reach $60 by the third quarter, which will be a good sign.
Carinhas looks forward to what 2017 will bring with a new president and believes that “businesses will pick up and people will return to work.”
Carinhas says, through her strong Christian faith, she is able to find blessings despite the slow economy.
Fortunately, Carinhas has “the type of business that has celebrations for all of the happy events in life, such as birthdays, bridal and baby showers, weddings and anniversaries," she said.