Two years ago, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote about the closure of San Francisco’s neighborhood supermarkets, a trend that continues today.
The stores weren’t closing because of a lack of profits.
They’re closing because developers were offering a ton of cash for the big, wide-open spaces they held (parking lots, box store sized buildings, central locations). Certainly it’s within the rights of the developers and the owners to make a deal, but the neighborhood is often the one that feels the long term impact of deals like that.
Fortunately, an original owner of the chains started buying the stores back because he didn’t want them to disappear.
Think about what happens when your small town (or your big city neighborhood) loses a locally owned grocery store or other locally owned vendor of stuff you could get at Big-Box-O-Rama.
What about the money?
I know, money is tight in a lot of households. And I know that those box stores are usually cheaper.
Ray Negron at Cimarron Cafe & Catering said something about this a couple weeks ago: “My clients work hard for their money. I work hard to make sure they get good value and a nice meal when they spend it at my place.”
Think about taking $50 a month that you’re already spending… and spend it locally in hometown-owned businesses.
Make it clear to them *WHY* you’re doing it.
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I think it will be a shame is we lose local supermarkets like we have been here in Tampa. Developers are eating up them for space for strip malls, a sad situation.
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