Is your town starting to look like every other town?

When I'm in Ikea all that runs through my head is the Disney soundtrack to the "It's a small world" ride. ARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!.

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gustavratzenhofer wrote:

Joe Nation wrote:
What happens then to the person who wants to put his or her mark on a business? Can that still be done in the fields where corporations have already made their mark?

Remember when the video stores first came out? There were hundreds of different ma and pa video stores. The the corporate wheel rolled into town and pulverized them. Where once was Bob's Videos now stands a Hollywood or a Blockbuster. Then, one of them will eat the other and there will be one.

It's a sad friggin' deal. Same thing with restaurants. Why do so many people want to eat that vile crap that McDonalds peddles anyway? Or Burger King?

I am on my own personal crusade regarding this issue, Joe, and that is outright refusal to patronize any of the corporate giants. You will never see me set foot in a Home Depot. I'll spend the extra money down at the hardware store that Bob owns.

And if I ever cross the threshold of a McDonalds, Burger King, or Kentucky Fried Chicken, I give God (if there is one, maybe now it's McGod) permission to strike me dead on the spot.

Fock the corporations I say. They may get rich off the multitude of glazed-eyed sheep that stagger through there doors on a relentless basis, but they will not get one friggin' penny from Ratzenhofer.

Not one god damn cent.

I thought I was the only one who thought this way. (sob) It's nice wonderful to know I'm not alone.

I have a $75.00 gift card some mis-guided friends gave me from the Gap. I can't go in there. It seems so sterile, yet I do need socks. And, I am so ashamed, when we go to Long Beach Island, NY on the train we eat at the Burger King near the station. What is wrong with us?

(It's near the beach, is it the salt air, you think?)

I know someday I may end up eating the early bird special at Denny's but in the meantime I'm avoiding any restaurant that has any more than three sister outlets. (See, Eva, that means Chimi's is still okay by me. Say hello to the folks.) and I only buy from Harry's Shoes (they are so upscale, they have a website.) and clothes I buy from Moe's of Manhattan and that little place off of whatdoyahcallit youknow.

Joe(damned if I wear another JCPenney flannel shirt)Nation

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True change (becoming the same as everybody else) struck Tomball with a vengeance last year. The country areas between the circle of The Woodlands, Magnolia and Tomball has suddenly begun to vanish as we become one happy WalmartHomeDepotLowesKrogerWalgreens mall. From the south, Houston is moving in like Gus on a bent metaphor. My street has become a major artery between Houston and The Woodlands, with new Walmarts and attendant shopping centers springing up as fast as they can be built, with new subdivisions, a giant new church - this shi- on every bare inch - and the road still single lanes.

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I can't deal with places like Walmart. All that junk in all those stores and very single piece of it is destined at best for a yard sale and at worst for the landfill. Nothing in any of those places that you would want to leave as an inheritence to your children.

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Bookmarking with--> Funny you should ask... I've been commenting lately that my new neighborhood of Waukesha, WI seems to have not one house without more character than any entire neighborhood in Florida. I about forgot what a dormer was. Soon I'll be opening a restaurant in Cedarburg where McDonald's is in, but without the "Golden Arches"... Dairy Queen is grandfathered and then I think the next most recognizable name would be the Piggly Wiggly (grocery store). It's the land that time forgot and I'm quickly falling in love with it. Downtown is old by code from one end to the other an quite lovely for it. The town figured out it wouldn't survive the chains so it flat out won't allow them.

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So you're not in Palm Beach, Florida anymore, O'Bill? Did the hurricanes chase you away?

WARNING: The following is a local commentary pertaining to Tulsa, Oklahoma. This is for Joe. Everyone else can ignore it. Just skip ahead to the next post.

Okay, don't say I didn't warn you.

Sorry to disillusion you, Joe, but Chimi's now has five locations, building a sixth in Arkansas. They're about to break up the ownership though, I think. So it's still okay for us to eat there. Cherry Street now has a McDonald's, a Subway and a Quizno's, but there have also been several new one-of-a-kind restaurants move in, and they're doing very well. Brookside lost its Wendy's, which you will be happy to hear is now an organic-bread-and-food-coop place run by two delightfully retro hippie ladies with braided hair down to their waists. S & J Oyster finally closed...Howard Smith was shot in a pawn shop robbery a couple of years ago and recovered (mostly) but couldn't manage to keep up with the restaurant's time demands any more. Fuddrucker's and Charleston's (chains) moved into Brookside during the last few months, but there are still (blessedly) plenty of locally-owned Mom & Pop start-ups to be found, and they seem to be flourishing. There is more, but I'll stop here before I bore everyone else on this thread to tears.

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Wait a minute, did I miss something? I thought Occam Bill was opening a restaurant in Palm Beach and Mrs. Nation and I were planning an A2K surprise party for him. (We were, Gus, Kicky, Eva, LittleK, Dag, ebeth, CI, Frank, well, you know, all the cool people, were going to show up one Saturday night without reservations and just raise hell until we were properly seated or sedated whichever seemed more appropriate.)

Now, it seems that we will have to change our plans.

Cedarburg
Motto: Plenty hayseed in Cedarburg, Yah, Dot's right for sure.

Well, I'm still planning to go but the silk blue khakis and MongoBono shirt I was going to wear in Palm Beach are being returned today.

Joe(I'm sure that Cedarburg will become the big draw for the beautiful)Nation

PS: Thanks for the update on the old neighborhood. Howard Smith was shot during a pawn shop robbery? This is why I moved to New York City, very little of that sort of thing here.

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bmp

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Oh. My mistake. Howard was shot during a bank robbery, not a pawn shop robbery.

I got mixed up about shootings & people I know. You know how that goes. Wink

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I live in farm country, so all the towns look the same :-) When I do take my trips into the main city in the area I notice all the American companies building like crazy.
If course every little city along the way has a Tim Horton's (dunkin donuts to you, just not as good).
The larger city which is a 30 minute drive is growing so quicky, it's amazing. There you'll find Staples, Costco, Home Depot, McDonnald, Taco Bell, Micaels craft store (openong next week), Burger King, Arby's, Etc... Of course you also find our own store names like Super Store, Sobies, Kent homes, Home Hardware, etc...
When I go to the city here, I don't see much difference from where I use to live.
I live in a French community, but a 30 minute drive will bring us into a more English speaking community.

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Wow! Where have I been? Bill moved and is opening a restaurant and Ceili has also moved, or is moving...

Good luck with that you guys :-D

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How hard would it be to start a new restuarant without corporate backing? Obviously, you can get funding from investors, (Hey! I think I still own one share of a Beer Brewery in Tulsa.) What do you face in terms of marketing your new eating place as the populace is drowned by interminable ads on TV, Radio and print for Burger King, Micky-D's etc.

Capitalism at it's best.

Joe(Can you have a Smile Snack since they own the words Happy and Meal?)Nation

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Your share in the brewery is now worth approximately the same as one Confederate dollar, Joe, except that it's only considered a collectible in Tulsa. The microbrewery went bust in record time...only took about a year and a half. Good beer, terrible food. (Lesson for O'Bill.)

Actually, this ties the whole shooting confusion thing together quite nicely. It was Tim Clark, who bought & renovated Lincoln school where the brewery was located, that was shot in a pawn shop robbery. He owns Silver Dollar Pawn Shop in Brookside (42nd & Peoria by Arby's). That happened a little over two years ago. A little over one year ago Howard Smith was shot during a robbery at the new First Fidelity Bank at 21st & Columbia along with their president, Marc Poole, who had previously been president of Stillwater National Bank on Cherry Street. (It's a small world here, Joe, but you know that. Same stuff goes on here as in NYC, just less of it. Sometimes that is a good thing.) Eva here, reporting for Midtown Tulsa News Update. Back to you....

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Quote:

only took about a year and a half. Good beer, terrible food. (Lesson for O'Bill.)

I know, I told them several times that a brewery ought to sell food that goes with beer.

(They sold roasted herb chicken Rolling Eyes

and no pizza or burgers, too plebian, what the hell do they think beer is? And don't get smart.)

Anyway, I'm feeling better. I spent part of Friday at a place here called Chelsea Market. It's full of places run by entrepreneurs: small restaurants, bakeries and lobster marts. Upstairs are design offices and ink-stained wretches trying to do public relations. It's capitalism on the one or two person level.

Joe(Hey, Maybe's there a website)Nation

edit: oh yeah: Chelsea Market New York

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It is really fun to hear all of this "Tulsa talk".

My first memories of life were formed on the corner of 15th and Utica. My brother and sisters went to school at Lincoln.

A few years and several moves later we relanded in Tulsa - this time at 18th and Norfolk.

I know the area has become very gentrified since then.

But I still remember eating beans and cornbread at Ray's - just off the south east corner of 15th and Peoria - when they closed Ray's it was a real "there goes the neighborhood" moment for my family.

I also remember shopping at Utica Square when there was a Piggly Wiggly (or was it Jitney Jungle?) and a T.G&Y.

I didn't know you were a Tulsa girl, Eva. I still get back there once in a while -- maybe this summer....

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And I just have to ask ---

If you've lived in that neighborhood during the 70/80s did you ever go to The Nine of Cups?

If so, we've probably met.

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and wouldn't that be amazing...

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That would be really amazing!

I've noticed before that Joe lived in Tulsa once upon a time and I've always thought he looked a little familiar.....

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ohhhhhhhh - that looks good (Chelsea Market)
I could walk there and buy a loaf of black olive bread at Amy's on the Friday I'm in New York

<I'm in here reading, trying not to rant about suburbs and mallification and the hideous experience of trying to buy milk in Madison, WI - I'm still in recovery>

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I used to play guitar at the Nine of Cups. Sitting on top of the refrigerator, no sound system, just music and socio-political commentary. (Summer of '72)

Joe(Could someone hand me up a John Walker Black on the rocks?)Nation

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Is your town starting to look like every other town?

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