Being a city girl, I judge how well an area is doing economically by the businesses that are prevalent (existing) as well as businesses moving in.  Of course, construction is always a key sign, but it has to be "growth" oriented not just - "we're building another strip mall here or we're building more houses there".

So, when I see a sign go up for a national chain business - I get excited.  It signals growth both economically and demographically.

Most are unaware that many of the national chains require an area to reach or obtain a certain population count before they will open a franchise in that area.

In our area, we've been short (at least in my opinion) on decent breakfast locations - yes we have the waffle house and a few local eateries -