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Old 12-19-2006, 08:23 AM
Joan.of.the.Arch Joan.of.the.Arch is offline
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Default Re: Mom & Pop stores.... what ones do you patron?

Yes, mainly restaurants and ethnic groceries. Occasionally smokehouses, farmer's stands, a cheesemaker which unfortuanately closed down but will be re-opened soon by Kraft Foods. A couple of bait shops, a boat mechanic, river marina (recent ice storm totalled the covered docks, fortunately our boat was not in the water.) A winery, a professional woodwinds instrument testor, several potters. How about the roofers, siders, gutter guys, tuck pointers? Am in the market for a stone mason. Used a plumber who ,oddly, is now in the combination business of kitchen remodelling and cell phones. He was a good plumber, too. Our neighborhood hardware store, though I find them rude-- at least they still will sell little screws and bolts by onsies and twosies and they have a lot of things my 100 year old house needs that the box stores don't carry. Got a custom lampshade from a small shop, but searched for what I wanted in all the chain stores for years first. The tool rental business I use is famly owned and run. Oh, bike shop, ice cream shop, and flavored ice ("snowball") shop.....

But overwhelmingly our dollars are spent at national chains. I hardly even know how to find locals who carry some things I might need. Like, for example, where is there a truly local mom'n'pop shoe store, or where could I buy a mom'n'pop toaster? Even if I could find them, they'd probably sell the same imports as everyone else.
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