Originally Posted by wahoonc

That is the hard part of the equation. My parents still live in the same neighborhood that we lived in from the time I was in 7th grade. It has actually gotten nicer in some ways. But! the old corner drug store is gone, the corner grocery is gone, and the corner bakery is gone. Replaced by a big name oil company stop and rob, the neighborhood fought it but as in many cases somewhere along the way money was passed around and they were able to shove it through. There is a large chain grocery store 3-4 miles away, so it isn't as bad as in some cases. I see some areas where the stores are still in the neighborhoods and it gives me hope. I think as gas prices rise people may be more prone to spending their money closer to home, but it is going to take someone with a serious interest to reopen the corner grocery store, and people are going to have to be willing to do without things like choosing from 50 different kinds of barbecue sauce, or 100 different styles of chips. I shop at a local owned grocery in our town. I actually have met and talked with the owner and can anytime I want to. I asked about his carrying a particular product, his response...we will get a couple of cases and see how it does. Some things he has added to the store inventory, others didn't do as well but he will special order me a case if I am willing to take the whole case. Works for me. FWIW he actually owns a small chain of IGA's. IIRC there are 7 store in his chain. He thrives on personal service and giving back to the community, not something you are prone to see from too many big box stores. What is interesting to me is that there is a WalMart Super Center on the edge of town and another large grocery chain with a distribution center in the same town. He said he noticed a dip in his sales with the super center opened but they recovered to normal levels in less than 6 months. I think among other reasons is because they custom cut your meat, their vegetables are straight from the truck farms in the same county, their customer service is outstanding and he will make deliveries for people that really need it. I ALWAYS frequent my local owned businesses in hopes that I can keep them viable.


Aaron