On the Friday that the ice cream shop Sugar Magnolia finally soft-launched in downtown Blacksburg, Virginia, traffic through the doors didn’t falter for eight hours. The tables were swamped when I wandered over. No matter. I ate my $3.50 coconut chip ice cream cone among the greeting card racks.

It’s the least I can do. Communities do well when their locally owned businesses are thriving. Businesses succeed when the communities they’re located in are humming along. It’s the ultimate circular...