“[W]e try to eat at locally owned places when possible . . . . I’ve got more to say about the local business thing . . .”
Interesting. I wonder if we share views on this matter. I have often lamented what I refer to as the commoditization of my home town in Michigan. For years almost all of the businesses there were strictly local, save for the Kroger’s, Meijer, Wal-Mart, and a few fast food joints.
But in the last 5 years or so, the “big boys” have noticed the population and economic growth of the area, all of which was built on the backs of local business owners, and they’re now moving in to take over. They’ve nearly killed all of the local restaurants and boutiques that gave the town it’s unique identity. Every time I go back there it seems there’s some new restaurant or retail chain moving in — Applebees, Pier 1 Imports, Chili’s, Friday’s — and two or three more local establishments have closed.
It’s sad, really. My home town, like many other towns in the U.S., is starting to look generic. It’s happening all over. Local flavor is being displaced by corporate blandness and themed living, and it’s the folks that spent their lives serving these towns that pay dearly. “Thanks for building an economy here, now get out so we can milk it for all it’s worth.”
I hear they call this progress.
-Bill