Mom and Popsville

woodworkingboy

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My wife is up in the far north and I caught me a bad cold. The thought to go home and cook didn't seem too entertaining, so I drove by this little cafe place that i know and the light was on inside, though they were closed. The owners, a mother and her son, both up there in years, reside on the premises. I know them in there, not so well, but they recognise me, it's just a small place. The door was open so i walked in and they both were sitting there watching tv. I said, "I know that you guys are closed, but any way that you can fix me up something, I'm kind of under the weather?" "Were not prepared for customers, but if a little stew and some soup will do you, sit down", the son said. They fixed me up with what really hit the spot and charged me four dollars for the stew, nothing for the soup. Nice folks, but the mom is tired and business isn't so good these days, they are wanting to close up.

I miss mom and pop local places, cafes or markets, people that you can get to know and feel good about going into their businesses. The ones that maybe will give you a little extra care, y'know chat with and feel kind of at home with in your neighbourhood from the regular association. They used to be all over the place, but no more. I don't know if people don't want to work that hard or they can't compete with the big outfits, but to me it sure seems like a loss of worthy culture. Perhaps some of the younger guys in the house have never much seen these places how they used to be. I thought it would be worth remembering. Got any cool places still going in your areas, or ones that you used to frequent??
 
Cafes and shops closing all the time in rural France.
People retiring and the youngsters don't want to take them over.
Can't blame them really, can't compete with the big boys plus working all the hours God gave just to stand still.
Just the way it is.
Both the Stihl and Husky franchises I use are family owned and run.
They'll rob you blind of course, but with a smile.
 
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Mentioning France reminds me of this old coffee shop that used to be in the larger town over when I was an apprentice, and it was called "France". The owner I think fantasised himself as a Frenchman, always dressed in what I perceived as a Frenchman's style with an ascot in his collar. His place was set up like some kind of pre war France, and he was always playing these real moody old French records. I don't know if he had ever lived in France himself, or perhaps just modelled the premises after what he saw in magazines or movies. I guess he had about eight round tables in there, and it was on a quiet alley like street in an old part of town. The coffee was good in nice cups and saucers.

There used to be zillions of coffee shops around, owner run, and each one had a different personality going on inside. The wife or worker would be serving and the owner making coffee the old fashioned way, with a slow pour. That is what attracted the regular customers, plus the good cup of Joe. Going to places like that used to be big, before the onslaught of Starbucks or Dennys. A few old styles remain, but scarce now.
 
I love mom and pop places! My husky dealer God rest his soul was the BEST . now all I have are big box stores with" wrenches " that can only set up a new saw, and do the very basic repairs that I can do myself.
 
I have really mixed feeling about mom and pop type stores. I am old enough to remember all the small business in my town. Clothing stores, drug stores, hardware stores, department stores.
I loved these stores, and I still shop there when I can. I hate to see main street closed up. All of our stores closed up before the Walmart moved in thirty miles away, so I guess it was mostly no one around to take over the store. My kids go into these stores with me, we sit down to eat.

Mostly what pisses me off is that as a citizen of town, I am obligated to shop in town no matter what. Like Mick said, screw you with a smile, and then pout if you bought somewhere else. Everyone in the world is supposed to watch what they spend, you know spend smart, except if you live in a small town or are a farmer. I actually dont mind paying a little extra for the convenience of not having to drive a long ways to get something. But if I go somewhere else, you better keep your goddamn mouth shut!

I grew up in mom and pop stores, and do regret seeing the culture die. Some of the death is self inflicted, not willing to change and adapt, but some could not be helped.

I probably am pretty lucky living is small town rural America, I have probably been exposed to and continue to be exposed to mom and popsville more than average.
 
We are seeing another transition period here in our little town. Places changing hands.. Even stores that are representing larger Corporations like True Value Hardware, maintained a mom and pop appeal. That just changed to Ace and the old Ace and lumber yard closed. NAPA guys knew your name.. So did the Car Quest guy.. Now NAPA took over the Car Quest and O Reilly now stands where they were. Restaurants come and go. Not much in the fast food department allowed here anyway. The next town over, whole different story.They keep trying to put a Walmart over there. I like places that have bar stools and a counter, checkered table cloths, and you can order your "usual".
 
My saw shop is a mom and pop store and is awesome. Almost always, he can take a look at my saw and fix it on the spot. Thanks, Randy!!!
 
The litte town where I grew up had two groceries, a bakershop, a butcher, a blacksmith, a drugstore, 2 gas stations a railroad hotel and a postoffice.

All gone!

It happened to a lot of small villages/towns here. They grew up around a railroad station, where produce could be shipped out to the world and when the world turned to trucks instead of trains, they died off.
 
My Stihl dealer is the mom & pop type..... there # 2 sales in all of CA, but keep the home town feel.
 
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Self service gas stations have crept in, but still mostly full service. They give you a clean damp towel to wipe down the interior. Will clean your ashtray and floor mats if you want to ask them. The place I go to has three ladies working there, all very pleasant and hard workers, I've mentioned them before. I go by there on real cold days and see them running around taking care off business with a smile. I know one gal is a working mother. I never buy gas without having a conversation with one or more of them, could be about anything, or just joking around. Sometimes if I'm going by on my bike I might stop in just to see what's up. I have one lady saying words in English, she's a kick and real cute. They give me snacks, I might stop in at the convenience across the street and buy them some chips or something. I really like their attitude. I don't know how much more I might be paying in there, but I don't drive distances so much, and my truck gets good mileage. Whatever it might be the extra cost, lots of stands have closed up, I like to see them stay in business. The couple guys working there too are real pleasant. Having worked in a gas station, i can relate. Women are good for business no doubt, I can't recall if ladies ever worked in gas stations in the states when full service was still around.
 
Local restaurant where I have breakfast is nice...Kitchen guys will start my order when my truck pulls into the parking lot sometimes.

Local hardware has 2nd generation owner. Not much selection but I stop in to check if they have what I need first.

Two old groceries have been changed to a Bar and a liquor store. I used to love getting groceries at the one place and witting and having a beer at the checkout counter while they figured up what I owed.

I'm on a first name basis at our Bank, stores, post office and many of the older businesses.

Used to be farm country and a rail stop. Now surrounded by pole barns containing commercial businesses or dead-end neighborhoods of large footprint houses.

When I moved here it was a dirt road; it has since been extended and developed into commercial property and traffic is constant. Only 5 houses left out of the original 11 in our little neighborhood. 2 of them were actually tar-paper, shacks that large families lived in, one had a dirt floor.
 
I remember the corner store that would let me carry a tab and sell me whiskey on a sunday. Those were the days!
 
We lost a great hardware store in town this summer, Foster's. It was a real hardware store, with creaky wooden floors, slicks and boring machines for sale, all good, American made stuff. Bob decided 51 years behind the counter was enough.:(
 
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In Petaluma, Sonoma county, there was a family owned grocery with a bar in the back. Kind of a gourmet Italian grocery, a real old place. with dark wooden floors. Used to be that here that you could stop in at a liquor store and get a glass of sake poured. People might have been doing a lot of walking or riding a bike to get to where they wanted to go in those days
 
I grew up during the Norman Rockwell years when Mom and Pop stores abound. I have some fond memories of the period. It's a shame the youth today doesn't have the opportunity to know or understand the old values.
 
We had a grocery store with the creaky wood floors and string hanging from the ceiling to tie up your packages. They knocked it down and the old post office and built a new PO/apartment house.

They took the old PO and rebuilt it behind the library as a historical site. They have exhibits that they change up. Good idea to keep some of the past.

We still have our share of Mom and Pop diners. They change hands fairly often.
 
The first real "Norman Rockwell" style store I encountered in the US was in Tecopah in the Mojave desert.
Neat, old fashioned grocery store, with an old creaky shaded porch.
I had been hichhiking through the desert in early summer and was parched and hot.
Went inside and got a cold beer in a paper bag, sat and drank it on the porch, while looking out at the heat shimmer over the Mojave.
A nice memory:)

This summer I came across this nice old fashioned ( Like going through a time warp, really) clothing store in Bishop CA.
Since my wife wanted to buy some Levis, we figured it would be nicer to get them there than in a department store.

P1000967.JPG P1000970.JPG
 
Our little peninsula is all mom and pop businesses, myself included. Construction, IT, trees, landscape, bar, market. Subway has made its way in. Its possibly mom and pop / franchise. At another Subway in town, I've spotted the guy pictured on the wall (franchise owner) making subs on occasion. We have new (controversial) development. A fitness center and more retail spots. We're 10 miles from downtown, 5 miles from the west side mall. Still out 'there' a bit.
 
My saw dealer is a mom and pop joint, literally. Both in their 60's. You go in his 40 year old small store and the walls are decorated with dusty fish mounts, pictures of guys running excavating equipment in the 70s, old dealer recognition awards from the 80s, and 50's slow country music playing quietly from the back of the building where the repair benches are. There's also an array of various sized rolling computer chairs within 8 feet of the cash register. On any given day there might be a few older local men leaned back in those chairs talking about any number of topics.
 
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Penneys department store I remember shopping at for back to school clothes when a kid. If you wanted jeans or something and they didn't have anything left in your size, the saleslady would call around to some of their other stores to see if they had it, if so, get it sent over to pick up later. I wonder if any place will do that now?
 
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