Big Business vs. Mom and Pop

[mets82]

Growing up and to this day, I would hear about how it was in the old days. The days of Mom and Pop stores where it seemed like you'd get more merchandise more for your dollar. It seemed like that in those mom and pop stores, it was more quaint and the owners knew you, you knew them, you knew there friends etc. Now, it seems like big business(walmart, target, kohl's) etc. has taken over these mom and pop stores and maybe, its because I dont go to these stores as often, but even though they have what your looking for, you just miss those old days and those old stores. Is this making sense to you guys? What you think?

[Mr. Television]

I remember when I was a kid visiting my Grandma. We would walk downtown to the local grocery store. Everybody knew her. They called her by name. I always thought that was so cool. That store isn't there anymore and even in my own small town, there aren't any small Mom and Pop shops anymore. They had one when I first moved here but it closed down after the owner got cancer and closed it up. It seems like stores like that are things of the past anymore.

[tiredmike59]

I don't think there are any around here anymore. I remember one we used to go to after school, they were called Dimestores back then, It was run by a little old guy, I think his name was George but everyone referred to him as Baldheaded Fart. We would always load up on penny candy and he would put it in those little brown paper bags except for the candy that went direct to our pockets. He was nearsighted so it was easy. That store became a barber shop and then a dog grooming place.

[Mr. Television]

Originally Posted by tiredmike59

I don't think there are any around here anymore. I remember one we used to go to after school, they were called Dimestores back then, It was run by a little old guy, I think his name was George but everyone referred to him as Baldheaded Fart. We would always load up on penny candy and he would put it in those little brown paper bags except for the candy that went direct to our pockets. He was nearsighted so it was easy. That store became a barber shop and then a dog grooming place.

I remember there was a small store like that when I was a kid. We lived in a trailer back then and the store was located up over the hill on a different street. Now I was only 7 years old and I wasn't supposed to go up there without my parents. One day the neighborhood kids all went up there to get some candy and I tagged along. I was the youngest one in the group. I still remembered that. I didn't tell my parents until years later when it didn't matter anymore. lol I went back there a few years ago to see the old neighborhood. The store is all empty and it looks like a dump. It looks like nobody has been in there in years. In fact the whole street where the store was located looks like a ghost town.

[mets82]

TiredMike, Baldheaded Fart. I laughed out loud at that.


Even the big business back then seemed better. I mean in our area in CT., we had Bradlees, Caldor's, which is like Kohl's and Target now.

[MickeyMac]

If you have any mom and pop local businesses, by all means support them. You may save a few bucks at the big box chains, but if you support local business, that money stays in the community, and when local businesses go under, that is not something than can be replaced.

[Penny Lane]

My in-laws had a hardware store in my small town. They had it from the 40's thru the 60's.They sold it but the new owner couldn't make a go of it. The bigger hardware chains and department stores eventually sucked up all of the business. When my father in law owned it he would make house calls to glaze windows, deliver and install appliances, and fix almost anything! My husband often worked in the store and went along with his dad on outside jobs. Sadly those days are long gone!

Here is a photo of my hometown, Gaines, Michigan, My in law's hardware store(now an antique shop) is on the right in the center. The brick building with the white false front. Directly across the street was a family owned market where I worked and met my husband.

[Coffeecup]

We had small grocery stores and drug stores decades ag that were locally run. But when chains came in and the chain prices were more economical, out when the small run stores. Currently the manager of a Rite Aid drug store in my home town wants to open up a store of his own. Felt restricted by Rite Aid policies and he wants a more small town feeling. I do wonder how in the long run, how long he will be in business. We will see.