I have personally been on a mission to try to patron small businesses over corporate business in short pump.  After all, with most corporate businesses, we do get the benefit of jobs but most of the revenue leaves our local community.  By spending your valuable money with local business owners (whether it be a mom and pop, a larger locally owned business (ex. Ukrops) or even a national franchise owned by a local franchise owner, your money has a much higher likelihood of remaining within our community.

So, in theory, I am all for BUY LOCAL.  However, from a practical perspective, I often feel these conflicts because what if the corporate business serves your needs better or just makes you feel more comfortable?

In just the past few weeks, I have noticed a few examples.  For example, I like the desserts at Whole Foods Market better than the ones at Ukrops.  Or, when I needed to buy a tennis outfit, I stayed away from the local small business because I did not want the pressure felt in a local boutique store to buy something right away.  I prefer the non-pressure and anonymity of Dicks or using the Internet.

And then when it comes to locally owned restaurants in short pump, my husband and I are at a lost of where to eat because of the recent trend of many locally owned restaurants going out of business. One of the main factors for restaurants is to offer a regular experience to their customers but when local restaurants cannot afford the lease payments long enough to build this presence, the corporate restaurants win by default.  Their business model is based on providing a consistent and reliable experience time over time.

Despite these challenges, I do have a sincere interest in helping our local businesses to get more of our business.  I think the true answer is for consumers to try a little harder (we have this rule that when we eat out, 50% of the time it is with a local business) and for the small businesses to do a little more to address some of the reasons why people choose to go to the corporate outfits. One example is trying to communicate more with customers. . . whether it be through email lists, the Internet, or just sending out a customer loyalty discount every now and then (this is what Ann Taylor Loft does and it gets me to the store every time!).

But as I read her article, I totally understood where she was coming from.  I am a big believer in small business and in local business and it really upsets me every time a local business owner goes out of a business as a result of large corporate conglomerates coming in.

This sentiment really hit me when I saw the stories about Ukrops potentially selling to a national, non-local chain.  It really breaks my heart to think of Richmond without Ukrops and I am quite sure that this is being driven not only by the economy but by the influx of corporate chains coming into Richmond.

I urge you to read Kari’s article which goes into a recently launched project called the 3/50 Project.  We can make a big difference to the families and individuals that devote their business lives to our local community if we could each just focus a little more on patronizing our own neighbors and local entrepreneurs.

Here is a link to her article: The 3/50 Project

Or you can copy this link into your browser:

http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/jul/20/350-project/

The news yesterday of Circuit City going into liquidation was actually quite shocking.  Circuit City has always been a part of Richmond and it really is hard to imagine a business which has been around for 60 years not being able to survive somehow.

While employees were told there was a 25% chance this would happen, most everyone was pretty confident an acquisition would come and save the company.  The sad thing is that Circuit City employees worked like crazy to negotiate and finalize a deal only to find out that the banks got cold feet and, at the end of the day, refused to finance the acquisition.

I am sad for my fellow Short Pump family neighbors and friends who are being affected by this.  We know of a family who moved here last year to work for Circuit City here in Richmond.  Both husband and wife worked for them and so now they are pretty much facing the reality that given the local job market, they will need to once again uproot their family.

Then, there is the father of an old family friend of mine who worked for Circuit City for 30 years.  The news is hitting him not only financially but emotionally given his commitment to the company.

Another friend I have is a little younger and has worked for Circuit City for the past few years.  She loved her job and her colleagues and was working hard to make FireDog a success.  She just got married this year and bought a house a few months ago.  Losing her job is a big hit to her and her husband and with a new mortgage, little savings, and little opportunity in Richmond, they are dealing with a lot of uncertainty and stress.

Today, our entire Short Pump community is feeling the sadness for all our friends and family affected by losing their jobs. I have heard that the last few months have really been an emotional roller coaster for those who work there and those who tried to save it somehow.  As with any loss, there is some closure to the final news and so hopefully, this makes it easier to move on . . . to bigger and better things.

To me, it seems strange because Short Pump is not an urban setting but rather a suburban setting. I lived in an urban setting for 6 years prior to moving to Richmond and what attracted me to living in a real urban areas was that the entire area was an urban setting.

I just wonder whether a miniature replica of an urban setting covering a relatively small section of the area is sufficient to be successful for people who want to live in such a setting?

Now, I am not a real estate expert and I am sure the real estate developers did their research.  Perhaps, there will be a group of baby boomers who will enjoy having sidewalks and places to walk to for shopping and eating.

My concern mostly focuses on the residential aspect of the area.  I can see where restaurants like McCormick & Schmicks and Dave & Busters will attract a strong following just as the other main stream franchised restaurants in Short Pump.

I do hope they are successful in selling their 545 townhouse and 339 apartments/condo units as I would hate to see a vacant glut in the midst of the other activity in West Broad Village.  Time will tell!

I don’t know about you, but I was a bit upset that this company was spending the money on newspaper advertisements. The more I think about the economic problems, the more strongly I feel that the best way to help the country is to help the small family owned businesses in local communities rather than the large corporations who just continue to waste money.

It is the small business that needs to provide real valuable products and services so they can feed their families.  It is the small businesses in each community that hires over 50% of the workforce.  It is the small business which remain innovative when it comes to better serving customers and communities.  It is the small business that feels more responsibility when it comes to its employees and business partners.  It is the small business that cannot afford waste, extra expense accounts and luxuries for executives.

Given all this, I think that both government and communities can help by thinking about how to help small business owners survive and grow in a difficult economy like ours.

I hope that residents of any community, including our Short Pump community, will understand this and make extra efforts to shop, patronize and support our local small businesses. . . the ones not owned by large corporations but owned by our neighbors.

First, we have Ukrops in the epicenter of Short Pump.  Surrounded by a Kroger, Food Lion, and Walmart’s Grocery Section all within less than a mile. Then came Tom Leonards which brought a nice addition to our grocery offerings. This year, we got two more wonderful stores with the long awaited Whole Foods Market and Trader Joes.

Recent news also include the planned upscale Kroger on the corner of Broad and Lauderdale and Food Lion’s decision to update its stores.  Now, I am the first to admit that the Food Lion on Lauderdale is not the greatest place.  But, have you ever been to a Bloom’s Grocery Store?  These are the new grocery stores being launched by Food Lion and they are really nice.  I frequent one when I am in the VIrginia Beach area.

It is interesting but even with all these additions, my grocery habits have not changed that much.  I am still extremely loyal to Ukrops for 95% of our family grocery needs.  On Sundays, I will venture into Kroger and sometimes Food Lion.  I do sometimes splurge on a Whole Foods visit when we are cooking a nice dinner or having company.  I also have lunch there every now and then at their pricey salad bar. And, I do like to buy wine at Trader Joe’s.

I do wonder how all these businesses can remain in business though.  The one I fear will fall is Tom Leonards which to me would be the last I would want to go.  This is not for my own reasons as I do not shop there very often, but because out of all the options, it is the one that is closest to a small business.

Small business owners work so hard and always face uphill battles against larger corporations. Yet, small business is what drives the American economy.  I know the papers are filled with the demise of large corproations but what they fail to highlight is the closings and the struggles of the small business owners in all communities including ours.

While Short Pump is inundated with big retailers and franchises, I hope everyone will make some effort this Christmas to patronize the small business owners who are sprinkled throughout our shopping centers.

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As we all know, Circuit City engaged in mass firings about two weeks ago here in the West End.  Now, I read the Wall Street Journal every day and so thought I was used to seeing companies lay off people all the time sometimes in huge numbers.  But the Circuit City activity really hit close to home.

We heard from some friends.  Sounds like that Friday wa just a horrible experience not only for those who got fired but even for those that did not.  Apparently, between 8 am and 11 am that morning, people would come out of offices every ten to fifteen minutes, walk around and tap people on their shoulders.  This meant that needed to go into the office to be told they were being let go.  Some people knew, based on their positions, that it was inevitable while others looked around and knew that one out of every three people would be fired.  Would it be me?

The thing that really bothered me was the press outside.  People were losing their jobs in this horrible economy and right before the holidays.  They were walking out with a box of their belongings.  Some worked there for 23 years and were let go.  I am sure the sadness, agony and fear they were feeling must have been so difficult.  Then, they had to deal with the press taking their pictures as they walked to their cars.

We have friends both who were fired and who remain.  All of them were distraught with the firings and many live in our Short Pump area.

I have been following Circuit City news in the papers and it just does not look good.  I know that this is happening everywhere and in much larger numbers (Citigroup is firing around 50,000 employees I believe- New York will sure be quiet for awhile). Still when it hits this close to home and affects family and friends, it just somehow seems a little more unjust.

Given Richmond’s current job market, it is likely we will lose friends and neighbors who will need to move to other towns to find suitable jobs for them and their families.

Related articles

• Circuit City May Close 150 Stores, Fire Thousands [Circuit City Bankruptcy Watch]

Again, it seems like people are split down the middle in terms of their feelings.  Some actually love all this retail coming and and are happy that we are getting much better stores than we ever had.  I used to fall in this camp.

But recently, I have switched sides to wanting no more development.  Enough is enough.  I miss seeing the trees and having some space in and around Broad Street.  And, the traffic is rivaling areas like Virginia Beach and Northern Virginia.  I have noticed that if my travels require me to be on Broad Street I now must add 15 to 20 minutes to my commute time.  I am really worried about how much worse it is going to get as the development across from Best Buy gets completed . . . and then there is the new development coming up across from the mall (Broad and Lauderdale). I am truly sad about that one as it takes away the last set of beautiful green trees left in and around the area of Broad.

Despite all the development, I guess it is nice to have new stores come closer.  And I cannot help wondering what new store is going to come into those new developments?

I am sure there will be lots of posts on this subject in our blog as the subject matter of short pump development is such a major one in our community.