I was reading the K-Mart thread and it made me think about the smaller stores.

In my town we have a nice little store where everyone knows everyone and you can still run a tab.

It is not uncommon (happens almost everyday) where I walk in and the girls start dancing with me and we all start singing some old song. I can also hear about everything that is going on in town. And, I even hear things about myself that I didn't know:-)

In the summer customers gather in front of the store and share stories while having an ice cream or soda. I have gotten to know alot of the towns people by going to our little town store. They trust everyone and everyone trust them.

Also there is the gas station where everyday a group of townsmen gather and gossip(Yes they really do) and ladies you'll be happy to know men can really, really gossip. I may not suppose to be letting that secret out;-)

Do you have any stories about a mom and pop business?

-- george (bngcrview@aol.com), January 03, 2002

Answers

We have a little store in our town like this. It has just about any kind of groceries, some hardware, lunch-meats and cheeses, lottery tickets, a butcher shop, ice-cream, a pool table, a tanning bed, exercise machimes, and a barber shop! You can find out anything there. Whenever someone in our area dies, they take up a ham fund. Everyone writes their name on a legal pad, and pitches in a dollar or two and then they bake and slice a big ham and send it to the dinner usually held after the funeral. The dinner will either be at the fire house or one of the two churches, or at the community center.

We also have a family owned gas station that has been around for 4 generations (early 30's I believe) They will tow your car and then give you a ride home if you need it. They do all mechanic work, plus maintenence, and sell gas. They own some of the largest tow trucks in the valley and are always on hand for semi-wrecks. The oldest member of the business, (son of the founder) is said to be a millionaire! And he probably is, as they are very thrifty and conservative. However he still works from 7 in the morning until 7 in the evening 6 days a week!

-- Melissa (me@home.net), January 03, 2002.

I grew up in a "mom and pop" grocery store in Green Bay,WI! Our store was a meeting place, it seems, for the neighborhood to exchange gossip and opinions. We knew everyone for a 6 block radius and they knew us. Dad was the butcher when a half of a cow came in and he also delivered groceries to homes. In retrospect, the store was SO small compared to now. And, life was so uncomplicated.

-- Ardie /WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), January 04, 2002.

Country singer Allen Jackson has a song about the "little man" How the small mom and pop stores are being killed off my all the * marts popping up.

Our little town has some local buinesses left. The Grocery store, hardware/auto repair. Local "service" station, drive through. The only "chain is a "duke" station on the edge of town for 24x7 gas and beer.

-- Gary (gws@columbus.rr.com), January 04, 2002.

Around here you can't hardly find any mom and pop anything. It has all taken over by the big chains. There is a small hamburger joint that has been there for years and is great, but now Sonic is coming to our little town and I know their prices are cheaper and know the hamburger joint is going to take a big loss. There is also a small hardware store in another neighboring town that even has a fantastic gift shop. I would rather shop at these places, but around here they are hard to find. So , if you have a mom and pop store close, I say give them all the business you can,usually they will also try to keep it in the neighborhood if they need anything!

-- Micheale from SE Kansas (mbfrye@totelcsi.net), January 04, 2002.

There are still quite a number of those stores around here. This county said "NO" to Walmart so it went to the next county-and I see a lot of small buisnesses there in trouble. This morning I stopped at the service station across from school, and filled the gas tank on my car, aired up a low tire-no charge, paid my "fire dues" for the year- we have a volennteer fire dept. I also paid my relitives dues so we are protected on this end of the road. I swapped howdys with the local constable-who also drives my kids school bus, and chatted about the school reading program and the possiblitiy of a snow storm this weekend, and bought a ham biscuit. This place will do minor car repair, has a few groceries, does a breakfast/lunch counter-it has tables so you can sit down, sell keroscene and disel fuel and some assorted hardware and odds and ends. They also have a few movie rentals and it is also the collection point for whoever needs money. Even if its a little more expensive, I try to shop at places like that than the chains.

-- Kelly (Homearts2002@yahoo.com), January 04, 2002.

Well, we have been our own little "Mom and Pop" business for over 20 years now!

Actually, anyone who is self-employed qualifies for that designation. We have been owner-operator truck drivers for 21 years, and have been hay farmers for the past seven years.

I don't bad mouth the big busineses though, I know what it takes to get you there, and it is all healthy competition, better and specialized service will always have place in industry and business that the large businesses can't possibly fill.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), January 04, 2002.

At our local country store, I can call ahead and tell the young man at the counter what I need and by the time I get there, he has gathered up the groceries for me and then puts them in my truck..this was HIS idea when he saw how hard it is for me to shop with my cane (too much going back and forth)..as I said in another thread about local businesses, if a locally-owned store carries the item, I will always buy from them...a pox on super stores.....

-- lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), January 05, 2002.