The New Face of Mom-and-Pop and a Good Neighbor to All

Trending in charming small towns everywhere is a local resistance to the addition of retail chains as residents mourn the loss of their friendly neighborhood shops. The pharmacist who also coaches soccer or the snack shop owner whose kids play with yours are the reason we all move to bucolic suburban communities. The replacing of that neighborhood pharmacy with a Rite-Aid or Walgreens, or the snack shop with a Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts, is not exactly what we envisioned for our quaint Main Street USA.

But community members quickly adapt to, and even enjoy, the presence of the chain stores they fought so hard to keep out. It’s hard not to get used to lower prices, wider selection and longer hours that a chain store carries with its name. And, it’s hard not to recognize how significantly the chain contributes to the local economy by adding jobs and tax revenue, and by filling that storefront that has been empty far too long or has just lost another tenant because of rents that are hard for a small business to sustain long term.

In fact, the presence of an established brand can draw customers to commercial districts that they’d previously overlooked – and lead them to explore and begin to patronize neighboring local gems they hadn’t noticed before, creating a welcome boost in business and employment throughout the community.

Residents soon learn that not all chain stores are created equal. Many are franchised and are actually mom-and-pops, owned by people who are hardworking members of the community as well. They employ local accountants, give high school students jobs after school, sponsor uniforms for Little League teams and donate money, services and products to community events.

So, although the intention of efforts to protect mom-and-pop store owners is honorable, it should be emphasized that a great majority of chain store franchises are really small businesses owned by mom-and-pop entrepreneurs!

Another common fact: the chain store that local residents initially view as an intrusion most often becomes the most popular store in town, like the 7-Eleven that inhabits small towns throughout the U.S. – and is ranked as “one of the highest grossing in the nation.”