Friday, November 30, 2012

Friday Five: Corner Shops


There's so much going on right now...holidays, weather, politics, church politics, Advent!  Let's think outside all of those boxes today.  Who knows, maybe when we retire we can all get together and open someone's dream store...


Corner shop:  Via San Francesco, 21/2380067 SorrentoItaly
Photo courtesy of TripAdvisor 


These Friday Five questions courtesy of Friday 5:

If you suddenly received a ton of money and could open up some kind of store or service just for the pleasure of having it (assume it wouldn’t have to be too financially successful!), what would it be?


First of all, I could never work retail because my math acumen is so dyslexic that I would be in bankruptcy before I began. 

2. What service or store that no longer exists do you miss most?

Butcher shops,  small bakeries with good bread and local produce stores.  Most of all a good fish monger.  I refuse to pay the prices of a Central Market or Whole Foods.

3. What local business do you think you could make better if you were to take it over? And if you don’t mind sharing, what changes would you make?

Nearly all the medical industry 'shops' that have been set up.  I would return to the single doctor's office with a single or perhaps 2 nurses who care for the patients and a secretary/scheduler.  

4. What spot nearby seems to be impossible for businesses to survive in?

This is not a gift I have.  We have empty strip malls all over the place. I would like a restaurant that served good coffee and nice sandwiches in a local book store.  

5. We’ve all seen stores that combined books and records, beer and laundry, or coffee and whatever. One of my favorite places to get coffee in Honolulu is a cafe and florist, and there is a car garage that’s also a diner in a town nearby. What would be a cool hybrid of two disparate ideas for somewhere you’d like to hang out?

In my area we now have a numerous starred restaurant in a gas station because the chef could only get a permit to run a gas station that served food, but could not get a restaurant permit.  (TX, go figure.)  It has been on the food channel and advertised all over.  

I want a 'women's space coffee/tea shop with good books, not a "Christian book" store where I could take a book to read and have a glass of tea and chat with the clientele.   


7 comments:

river song said...

I love the gas station / restaurant--how fun! nice all-around play; blessed advent!

Mary Beth said...

ooh, some of the best real Mexican food is in gas stations! :)

Margaret Almon said...

I remember Womonfyre books in Northampton, MA when I was in college in the 1980's.

altar ego said...

When I lived in Hartford The Reader's Feast was a wonderful bookstore/cafe combo. They made a point to carry books for women, the LGBT community, and other folks whose interests were so often overlooked by the bigger stores. The baked goods and soups were always homemade, and local artists had work hanging on the walls. Sadly, it has closed, but I often think of it as a model of what a good local shop ought to be.

Unknown said...

Love the "women's space" - I've had that in a couple of cities and miss it.

Where in TX? I am in the MIdland/Odessa area.

Stratoz said...

I hope that bookstore emerges near to you in the very near future.

Muthah+ said...

TSB, we're in Ft. Worth. Let me know if you are going to be in town. We'll get together.