How about you REALLY shop locally and stop nodding your head?
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011For those of you that had not yet heard, The Carriage Trade Cheese Shoppe is closing. Abbe, Caroline, and Laurel are crushed. These are more tough times for Main Street. And for those folks in the Medford, NJ area that think, “oh what a shame, I loved that place!” – well, where were you? For all of the friends I have told the bad news that had that same reaction, I can count on one hand the number of them that had visited that shop more than once in the past 12 months.
There are now three restaurants left on Main Street and honestly, I would not be surprised if that number dwindles down to one before the end of the year. And yes, that is an honest and well-informed statement.
Shop locally folks, don’t just promise to do it and nod your head in agreement when I say it. Here’s an example… Pride Paws, a pet store on Main Street has better prices and is 5 miles closer than that Petsmart in Marlton. In addition, Pride Paws provides training and employment for people with such developmental disabilities as autism and Down Syndrome. The staff is incredibly friendly and helpful.
That said, it is not just the consumers at fault. Medford Township, stop pushing away retailers. Stop trying to stop restaurants from putting sidewalk signs out to attract customers. Stop complaining that the Jamaican restaurant’s sign is too bright. Heaven forbid if these establishments actually make money and attract foot traffic for all of the other shops in the area.
My fiancee lost an incredible job that she loved. She honestly enjoyed every single day she went to work. She didn’t have health insurance, she didn’t make much money. But she happily went to her job every single day. And her customers loved her.
These local businesses aren’t looking for handouts. They want your business. And I know firsthand, that if you would just give them a chance, the customer service and knowledge of a business person investing in your local community will knock your socks off.
So stop it folks. Stop acting the part of a parrot and repeating what you think you should say, i.e. – “Shop locally, braaaaak. Now give me a bloomin’ onion.” Do it. These local business owners are the ground swell that can change this economy and provide jobs for all of us struggling.
Movie Review…
Captain America: The First Avenger
– whew-weee!.. what a stinker. Well, I guess if you thought the Iron Man movies were frickin’ awesome, you might also like this one. The movie does stay fairly close to the original story of Captain America (one of my favorite super heroes as a kid), but the acting could have been done by cardboard cut-outs. Tommy Lee Jones, what the hell are you doing?
Small Business/Tech Links…
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- Kristen Wiig is great. Melissa McCarthy is great. There are some really great scenes, and as long as you take this flick for just fun, you’ll probably think it’s a so-so, but decent comedy.
- I liked this film, but perhaps not quite as much as it was lauded. Natalie Portman is excellent and the film moves slowly, but methodically. The problem I had with it was that nothing I had heard about it was as crazy as friends/film critics promised. The sex scene with Portman and Kunis was really nothing crazy. The plot twists weren’t that unforeseeable. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the film – it just wasn’t the groundbreaking masterpiece as promised.
