Directly from the article, some business owners are doing better than others because they house [some to a majority of] their workforce.

Sure, you're missing the company owning the church, but fewer Americans are religious now. The employer also doesn't own all the local stores, but "It's not a company town because the stores are owned by people that all know each other (due to it being a small town), instead of one individual" is a little too close to be comfortable to me.