Lisa Falconer

With new businesses arising in Brookings, SDSU students are finding that along with their services will be more job opportunities.

Joining Super 8 and Fairfield Inn in the growing business development east of Interstate 29 will be a new Holiday Inn Express. A specific opening date has not been set but according to its manager, Don Buboltz, it will be sometime in the middle of April.

“There are some minor construction issues that are a bit behind schedule but we plan to be open very soon,” said Buboltz.

Buboltz, the former manager of Super 8, has been accepting applications for a while now. He has not conducted any interviews yet so he said all of the positions are still available.

Whether students are looking for simply a full time or part time job, Holiday Inn Express is willing to be flexible around class schedules. Some of the job positions available are housekeepers, front desk clerks, and breakfast bar attendants.

Applebee’s, located just across the road from the future Holiday Inn Express, is another new business where many students are employed.

A month before its opening date of Jan. 14, most of the staff had been selected.

The employees had to go through a week long training for their positions.

Todd Schriever, director of operations at the Brookings Applebee’s, said, “We wanted a mix of both students and non-students. We currently seem to be well staffed so we don’t plan on hiring anyone else in the near future.”

When the new Applebee’s craze came to town, it forced guests to wait nearly an hour to just be seated. Now that it has been open for a few months, that waiting period is finally becoming shorter for most guests.

One of the larger businesses in town will be constructing a new store over the next several months. The new Wal-Mart Super Center’s opening date is scheduled for sometime in October. The moving will be done overnight so the store can remain open during normal hours.

With the store expanding dramatically, there will be a need for more employees.

A Wal-Mart associate said they will first decide which department their current employees will work in.

To apply for a job at Wal-Mart, a computerized application can be completed near the layaway desk in the back of the store. If students are wanting a job at the upcoming Super Wal-Mart, this process will not be necessary until late summer.

Finding a job in Brookings is usually difficult when there are thousands of other students wanting to do the same thing. Although, with the new and improved businesses in town, this process may be a bit less stressful.