small shop for a small stop

These days, our society seems to be based solely on convenience. By navigating down that path, I fear we have neglected the mom and pop shops that helped create every city we live in. These big-box-dollar-shops that consume our land with strip malls are certainly convenient, but unfortunately push the small businesses out of the market.

Perhaps I'm partial to mom and pop shops, given that my parents operate our family business in a home-grown, welcoming kind of style. With generosity and a quality product. But my parents are not the only ones. They are everywhere - we just tend to overlook them as we drive to the nearest chain store.

But the other day, I decided to not overlook one. A local shoe repair store. I had a pair of boots that needed the heals replaced. So I drove over to the tiny store with a neon light that said OPEN. And the man behind the counter not only works on the shoes himself, he probably opened the shop back in the day. I told him what I needed, dropped off the shoes, and picked them up a few days later as-good-as-new.

When we shop at the enormous chain stores, our money gets sent off to corporate, most likely in another state. The only benefit is the employment of local people - which IS a good thing. But when we buy local, it's estimated that our money circulates at least 4 times through the community. That man at the shoe store that earned my money could have bought dinner with it at the local Italian restaurant, who in turns spends that money buying food from the local market from a man who uses the same money towards his car repairs from the local auto shop, and so on and so on.

So think local when you can. It just might come back to you in a positive way.