The recent surprise closings of two Lenawee County Wendy’s restaurants and the announcement of Big Lots’ impending demise make one thing abundantly clear: We cannot stake our community’s economic future on the hope that somebody from outside Lenawee County is going to swoop in and be our salvation.

It’s not that we mind when a giant national chain decides to open up a store in Adrian. But when that happens, all it means is that we met some threshold determined by a formula in a spreadsheet in somebody’s corporate accounting office. We’re just a line on a balance sheet — a footnote to an annual report, good mainly for fattening the wallets of executives and shareholders who probably can’t even find Lenawee County on a map.

And what is given so dispassionately can just as easily be taken away.

To be clear, we take no pleasure in news like the closing of Big Lots. Every closing represents a loss of local jobs and a disruption in people’s lives. And there’s no reason a thriving local economy can’t include both local businesses and chains.

But we need to be there for the people who we know will be there for us, and that means supporting our local, family-owned companies whenever possible.

The headwinds against local investment are strong, and some of them start with our own habits.

One of the most-shared stories this newspaper published during our first month of operation was about the Michaels craft store being built in Adrian. Would a local store with the same products generate the same excitement?

Will the folks who clamor for a Golden Corral or a Chick-fil-A be as eager to check out the menu at the next locally owned restaurant that opens?

We hope so, but too often it’s the established brand names that get the most attention.

Let’s change that.

We have a suggestion: No matter when you’re reading this editorial, next weekend, take an hour to walk through a Lenawee County downtown and learn what’s there. And the next time you go out for a meal, make a point of choosing something local.

If we want a thriving community, we need to invest in the people we can count on to invest in us. And that means doing everything in our power to boost the small, independent businesses run by our friends and neighbors.

If we’ve beat this drum so many times that it’s starting to feel repetitive, that’s because it matters.

Incidentally, four months before announcing its closure and preparing to lay off thousands of employees, Big Lots gave its top executives more than $5 million in “retention bonuses.”

Go figure.