Foo - What stores/dealers/shops do you wish you had in your town?

I've heard quite a few people saying good things about Trader Joes (http://www.traderjoes.com/). I've never been to one and am curious what all the fuss is about.

No Costco (http://www.costco.com/), either.

I wish we had a weather store. Or a Campagnolo factory outlet.

Jimbo's Used Soul Emporium

Eboo Bigfeets House of Explody Crabs

Sarcasm R Us

A health-food co-op (not "faith-based") -- only raw foods, or fresh-pressed/ground juice/"butters"; no canned/packaged foods, or "supplements".

I've heard quite a few people saying good things about Trader Joes (http://www.traderjoes.com/). I've never been to one and am curious what all the fuss is about.

No Costco (http://www.costco.com/), either.

TJ's is awesome! We did not have them in FL, but do now that I am in WA. Great place to grocery shop. Think healthy foods but much lower priced than most stores of its type.

Costco.....meh, one wareshouse is the same as another. I have a membership and use them, but my life wouldn't be that much worse if they weren't around.



Cheesecake Factory, I hear they're awesome. Schlotzky's, we used to have a couple, but they shut down and left town, dunno why.
I've eaten at Cheesecake Factory and Schlotzky's and I'm not impressed with either one at all. Probably wouldn't even bother going back.

PBK, NCIX (although it's actually cheaper to buy these from outside the province because of reduced taxes)

can't think of anything else right now.

Jeff Sharrock's house of processed cheese.......I've heard they're great!

Jeff Sharrock's house of processed cheese.......I've heard they're grate!
fixed for missed pun.

fixed for missed pun.

Thanks....don't know what I was thinking. Oh wait....guess I wasn't.

But the service stinks.

I love Trader Joe's. Their buyers are fussy and buy as close to organic without necessarily being organic.. In many states BGH milk is not guaranteed to be labeled. Their buyers told me , in some states labeling laws make buying BGH free milk difficult. But, they make every attempt to get such guarantees from their producers... Sort of like going to Whole Foods. Just a heck of a lot cheaper..

Trader Joes

and a decent, honest to goodness Mexican restaurant.

Sort of like going to Whole Foods. Just a heck of a lot cheaper..Exactly! :thumb:

Any of the following would be nice

A bike shop.
A camera store.
A book store (non christian only that is).
A decent grocery store.
A restaurant with no drive through, waiters and table cloths would be asking for too much.
A clothing store that is not Wally World.
A movie theater or bowling alley.

Any of the following would be nice

A bike shop.
A camera store.
A book store (non christian only that is).
A decent grocery store.
A restaurant with no drive through, waiters and table cloths would be asking for too much.
A clothing store that is not Wally World.
A movie theater or bowling alley.


Sounds like you have some opportunities available (unless your town is like 10 people.)

Any of the following would be nice

A bike shop.
A camera store.
A book store (non christian only that is).
A decent grocery store.
A restaurant with no drive through, waiters and table cloths would be asking for too much.
A clothing store that is not Wally World.
A movie theater or bowling alley.

Get out of the South. It did wonders for me. :)

Sounds like you have some opportunities available (unless your town is like 10 people.)

Sad thing is we've had all of those ('cept the LBS). They never last more than a few months.

Get out of the South. It did wonders for me. :)

If my backyard was not the family farm, I'da been gone.

I'd like to see a good head shop.

Cheesecake Factory, I hear they're awesome. Schlotzky's, we used to have a couple, but they shut down and left town, dunno why.

Cheesecake factory is lame. They have a huge menu and therefore don't prepare any one dish particularly well. A fat client I worked for used to love to take the team there for lunch. She has cheesecake thighs. Woo hoo!!!

AFAIK, Schlotzsky's sells a sandwich that has over 2000 calories. Ugh.

I'd like to see a good head shop.

You don't have one,:innocent: that sucks?

Chicken Basket. There's no good fried chicken here.

Get out of the South. It did wonders for me. :)

Thems fighten words mistah!

Thems fighten words mistah!

Bring it on, Missus!!

*where the hell did I leave that bow*
Son..you got some purty lips....

Any of the following would be nice

A restaurant with no drive through, waiters and table cloths would be asking for too much.


Table cloths are overrated.

It would also be nice to have a larger, discount-type bicycle store (e.g., Performance). But, unfortunately for LBSs, there's always the Internets.

*where the hell did I leave that bow*
Son..you got some purty lips....

Oh great. Now I've got banjos in my head.

Shopping is just not something that obsesses my time. Unless, its sports or booze related... In fact, I avoid it.. Shopping malls. I sort of dislike them.. .....
What gets me into stores.. ....Bikes, Bike accessories, Dive shops, Booze( wine, beer, liqueurs, ) Books, basic clothes , such as 501's, Dockers, Polo shirts; and Trader Joes... (Something like Kohl's suits most of our clothing needs.. ) Getting into a real 'mall.' Maybe a twice a year thing.
Fun stuff. Vintners, Cinemas, is something we seek out..

Shopping is just not something that obsesses my time.


What gets me into stores.. ....Bikes, Bike accessories, Dive shops, Booze( wine, beer, liqueurs, ) Books, basic clothes , such as 501's, Dockers, Polo shirts; and Trader Joes... (Something like Kohl's suits most of our clothing needs.. )

Fun stuff. Vintners, Cinemas, is something we seek out..

Well....aren't you just a walking contradiction! :rolleyes::innocent:

Oh, I'd like to add to my list a decent Greek/Lebanese restaurant. The one we have used to be fabulous, then their service declined to complete crap (we then would just order out), and recently I've heard that their food is starting to suffer as well.

I want my [real] gyros and meat grape leaves!

I've found a few out here....they are probably my favorite restaurants. I LOVE Lebanese food!!!

Trader Joe's

Chevy's (I need some Fresh Mex)

I just ate at a little place called Habibi down in the Bethlehem area... Nice food, the owner/chef is from Jordan. So, a nice middle eastern restaurant a bit closer would be nice.

A wider variety of authentic ethnic restaurants in general would be nice.

A large electronics store besides Best Buy/Circuit City... something like Fry's would be great.

Oh, and for fast food... why is it always the regional chains from other regions that look the best?

One I know I like that isn't here: Togo's

And I like some of the drinks I have tried at Sonic the few times I have been in their area.

I didn't eat lunch, so I am going to stop thinking about food now. :)

performance Bike

What I would really like to see: a locally owned bank.

I wish there was a Bennigan's in town again. I miss their Monte Cristo sammich. A heart attack waiting to happen! :love:
Ernest

What is that store like? If it's pretty much a chain bike store, I'd like to have one here.

for bikes, we have:
wal-mart/toys r us/target/sports authority
local shop with super nice, helpful guys, where everything's expensive
local shop with *****hole, useless guys, where prices are a bit overpriced
local shop with somewhat helfpful guys, where prices are decent, but they never have anything I need

we must live in the same place:D

Perf. has a lot of stuff on close out and a lot of everything. I'd prolly still order bulk stuff like nutritional through the catalog if they didn't have it but you can pick up a lot there. I usually stop when on vaca....the one in Chapel Hill was nice....Tuscon's was HUGE (two floors).

I've heard quite a few people saying good things about Trader Joes (http://www.traderjoes.com/). I've never been to one and am curious what all the fuss is about.

No Costco (http://www.costco.com/), either.
trader joe's is all i need in denver to be truly happy. :)

we must live in the same place:D

Perf. has a lot of stuff on close out and a lot of everything. I'd prolly still order bulk stuff like nutritional through the catalog if they didn't have it but you can pick up a lot there. I usually stop when on vaca....the one in Chapel Hill was nice....Tuscon's was HUGE (two floors).

2 story performance? here? say what? ..must have been ages ago

I'd like to have all the specialty markets/shops back on the Bellevue main drag.
Since they've started really building up everything in Bellevue, all the little shops can't afford the rent increases. So far the barber, the French charcuterie and the Lebanese market have shut down (and maybe more. I haven't been over there in a few weeks.) The worst part about it is that since the economy tanked, nothing else is moving in to replace them.

and the Lebanese market have shut down.
I think the Persian grocery near my house is still open. Lake Hills shopping center (in front of the big Asian market: Pal-Do).

Here in Tampa we have just about all of the specialty stores that grace our Nation. We know have Ikea which by the way will be ready for opening in a few weeks. A large contingent of employees is needed and will boost the economy here in Tampa.

The only store we do not have is a Bass Pro Shop.

And that is fine with me.

http://www.cafe-frisch.de/cafenav.html

I haven't seen anything like this here. Maybe if I looked harder, I guess.

I should stop by here someday:
http://www.heidelbergbakery.com/

Here in Tampa we have just about all of the specialty stores that grace our Nation. We know have Ikea which by the way will be ready for opening in a few weeks. A large contingent of employees is needed and will boost the economy here in Tampa.

The only store we do not have is a Bass Pro Shop.

And that is fine with me.
You don't have Trader Joe's that many have mentioned. I never knew it until I moved from Tampa to Seattle area. TJ's is a great store.

You also do not have REI that is out here....nothing in Tampa that I remember compares.

No Performance that many have mentioned in Tampa either....another one that is out here (3 miles from my house). :)

No Peet's coffee shops (though you can find the coffee itself one or two places)

performance Bike


What is that store like? If it's pretty much a chain bike store, I'd like to have one here.

for bikes, we have:
wal-mart/toys r us/target/sports authority
local shop with super nice, helpful guys, where everything's expensive
local shop with *****hole, useless guys, where prices are a bit overpriced
local shop with somewhat helfpful guys, where prices are decent, but they never have anything I need


It would also be nice to have a larger, discount-type bicycle store (e.g., Performance). But, unfortunately for LBSs, there's always the Internets.


Perf. has a lot of stuff on close out and a lot of everything. I'd prolly still order bulk stuff like nutritional through the catalog if they didn't have it but you can pick up a lot there. I usually stop when on vaca....the one in Chapel Hill was nice....Tuscon's was HUGE (two floors).

I used to like you guys. :notamused:

I've heard quite a few people saying good things about Trader Joes (http://www.traderjoes.com/). I've never been to one and am curious what all the fuss is about.

No Costco (http://www.costco.com/), either.

I'm in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area and we've got ALL that crap. You're not missing much. I wish we had more mom and pop/individually-owned businesses here. All of the homogenized, standardized, franchises
get really tiresome after the initial novelty of their particular "experience" wears off. Even "Performance
Bike" is overrated ... I swear to God. I do most of my shopping (besides food) online now just to avoid all
of that crap. I do try to support the individual businesspeople in my (Ghent) neighborhood though.
I guess we all want what we don't have ... I love going to small towns with small shops. :)

we've got ALL that crap. You're not missing much. I wish we had more mom and pop/individually-owned businesses here. All of the homogenized, standardized, franchises
get really tiresome after the initial novelty of their particular "experience" wears off. Even "Performance
Bike" is overrated ... I swear to God.
No arguments here, for the most part.

You don't have Trader Joe's that many have mentioned. I never knew it until I moved from Tampa to Seattle area. TJ's is a great store.

You also do not have REI that is out here....nothing in Tampa that I remember compares.

No Performance that many have mentioned in Tampa either....another one that is out here (3 miles from my house). :)

No Peet's coffee shops (though you can find the coffee itself one or two places)


No REI but we have Bill Jackson's. That is the place on US 19 in St. Pete that has the indoor ski slope. By far THE best sporting goods place in the world. Remember the American Express commercial that featured them?
Yea, well we have Publix Grocery stores. Also the best grocery store chain.

No REI but we have Bill Jackson's. That is the place on US 19 in St. Pete that has the indoor ski slope. By far THE best sporting goods place in the world. Remember the American Express commercial that featured them?
Yea, well we have Publix Grocery stores. Also the best grocery store chain.

I was not overly impressed with Bill Jackson's. I used to work just down the street from there. It was nice, but not nearly as much stuff (and variety) any standard REI store. I'd complain about their high prices, but REI is no better in that department.

I'll give Publix to you...I was thinking about that after my last post. For "regular" grocery stores, they are the best and I should know, I used to work for them as a teenager. ;)

I want an REI. Even emailed them about opening a store in Tulsa. No dice.

Oh, and I want Jack in the Box to come back to town. And Shotgun Sam's Pizza.

Oh, and a LBS that will stock Jamis.