Instead of bitching about Wal-Mart, Borders, and Starbucks, take a load off for a sec and tell me about the locally-owned-and-operated businesses you like to frequent.

-- Anonymous, August 17, 2000

Answers

I missed Gwen SOOO much I'm going to de-lurk and answer a question.

I'm a foodie here in Memphis, TN, and I live a mile away from two of the best places to eat... Brooklyn Bridge is an Italian restaurant, and while everything's slightly overpriced it's absolutely fresh, homemade everyday, and utterly scrumptious. Their spinach artichoke dip is to die for. I have to stop myself from eating there more than once a week.

And Mantia's Deli down the street has more imported cheeses and meats than you've ever heard of (probably 50 cheeses from around the world; the selection changes constantly), plus they serve kickass salads and sandwiches for lunch.

Other than that... I like to go shopping at odd hours of the night, so I usually end up at Wal-mart or a chain grocery store anyway.

Luv y'all.

-- Anonymous, August 17, 2000

good records of Dallas...www.goodrecords.com

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

I don't think there are any locally owned/operated businesses in this part of the city. This is a very corporate neighborhood and it wearies me from time to time, even though I make my living working for a big corporate retail machine. Before I moved to Dallas I lived in Lawrence, Kansas, and there were so many cool, unique local businesses. That town has so much character it has an actual downtown where people actually go to shop. No mall, no strip mall, they go downtown! There's Arizona Trading Company with cool vintage and used clothing; Love Garden and Alley Cat for music; Jerusalem Cafe, Paradise Cafe, Free State Brewery, Teller's and Quinton's for food; Liberty Hall for artsy-fartsy movies and concerts; Planet Pinball & the Replay Lounge for fresh gaming action; the Bottleneck or the Granada for live music and drinks. I know there is lots more I have forgotten and surely lots that has changed. I miss Lawrence so much; I never would have dreamed I'd leave. sigh.

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

For music in Denver, you gotta go to Wax Trax and all their stores on the corners (I think it's 13th and Vine).

For books, everybody knows it's Tattered Cover, either the original one in Cherry Creek North or the second location in LoDo. (I don't have a preference).

Food? You should try the Denver Buffalo Company, I think they're at 9th and Logan, or thereabouts. Right across the street (pretty much) from KCNC News-4. There are lots of others, but that one's pretty cool, especially for out-of-towners. Then I like the Handle Bar and Grill, the Crazy Asian Cafe, Swing Thai, the Manor House, the Fourth Story, and and and way too many others.

For the best jazz in town, El Chapultapec.

Best coffeehouse: St. Mark's on 17th Street. Best Colorado-based coffee-house chain: Peaberry's. You should try them sometime.

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

Ooh: all the Soho record shops - Selectadisc, Blackmarket Records, Ambient Soho, and Rough Trade here in good ol' Covent Garden. They are some of my favourite places on the planet.

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

Gah! my boyfriend and I were just discussing this: I have guilt issues, but I cannot, *cannot* shop at my neighborhood mom and pop anymore. It's a grocery store in the middle of Hyde Park and I think they feed upon the assumption that the (somewhat liberal) neighborhood is going to automatically support them, as opposed to supporting the big chains. Which is all fine and dandy, BUT: they suck. They jack their prices up at least 40%, they run out of the most *basic* things at like 9am. Oh, they have shelves and shelves of Burt's Bees Hand Salve, but god forbid you try to find a carton of milk. On top of this, the cashiers are all very, um, *earthy* 19-23 year old girls who really need a bath, some Secret Roll-on and to learn how to stop talking to each other across checkout aisles while working so it doesn't take me 10 minutes to check out THREE items...

I guess I'm just mad that they don't make more of a serious effort to be a viable grocery store because I'd really like to support them, but they drive me nuts.

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

Lynchburg loves their chain stores and resturaunts, but down the highway about 10 miles is Concrete World. Everything you could possibly want that is made of concrete is there. Need a 10 foot high concrete gorilla? They've got it. They also have big concrete dinosaurs and other big animals. Need a pair of concrete praying hands? They have them in various sizes. Any concrete character you could think of they have, and they also have various pieces of concrete furniture. The place rocks.

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

We have a lot of Mom and Pop establishments in my town. In fact, for a full year a few years ago, we had no grocery store at all! I love my dry cleaners, where I can pay with a check and the woman knows my name. I've mentioned it in this forum before, but I love Leo's Grandezvous, an Italian restaurant owned and operated since 1939 by Leo, who still works behind the bar. There's knotty pine and paper plates for bread and a copy of Frank Sinatra's HS Diploma (he attended school with Leo) on the wall. Unfortunately, we used to have like three or four coffee shops, small and locally owned. Now we have a New World Coffee and TWO Starbucks. The town's only one mile square! Oh, we also have a fab music shop called Tracks, they have a great used collection and a young, knowledgeable staff. They also sell vinyl.

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

Nicole, where is Concrete World? I love concrete! I have a giant fiberglass hand from the Texaco Man. Maybe I could get him another one in concrete.....

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

Oh, God, I really need to complain. Thanks, Gwen!

I'm staying at my father-in-law's house at the moment, and have been popping up to the cornershop every day to pick up some bits and pieces. The thing is, I never know what I want until I look at everything on the shelves and see what sounds good (Bloater paste? No. Carrot and coriander soup? Sign me up!). The woman who stands at the counter, though, stares me down as if I'm going to nick something, and she's always making caustic remarks to whoever sits in the back room of the shop. I mean, they sound caustic, but I can't really tell because she's speaking a foreign language (she's Pakistani). Anyway, when I finally take my purchases to the counter, she makes me practically beg for a carrier bag, and then throws it at my chest while she harumphs in distaste.

I'd stop patronising this shop, except I'm too lazy to walk the five miles to Tesco.

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

Lisa, Concrete World is on Rt. 29 about 10 miles south of the Lynchburg, VA airport. If you can get there, I would strongly suggest you also take a look in the gift shop. They have a great selection of granny fannies.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2000

I frequent a lot of these places:

GenX Video has the best movie selection of anywhere. They rule. And they're very nice people who seem to know a lot about films.

Mel's Diner is an awesome greasy spoon for hanging out at. They're always nice to my kids and usually feed Joe free ice cream, let him sit on a spinning stool up near the counter, and sometimes ply him with quarters for the jukebox. It's very nearly like being out alone. However, Country Boy has many of the same dishes on offer (read=greasy breakfast food), but they bring a carafe of coffee right to the table! We go to Mel's for dinner sometimes, but breakfast out is almost always Country Boy because of the endless coffee.

If, on the other hand, we're in the mood for good food, then The Raintree Cafe is a great place. Loads of vegetarian options and really good soups too. I sometimes go there for lunch with just me and the kids and for a place that has exactly one highchair that they have to get down from a hook on the rafters -- they are incredibly nice to my kids. The last time we were there for lunch Joe danced with our waiter to Combustible Edison. They also have good live music. And if they aren't playing what I want to hear I can always go to Jane Bond. There are actually quite a few food and drink places around that are locally owned, but those are my favourites.

The Princess Theatre is the indi movie house around here. When I first moved here we used to see maybe four movies a week (we lived close and would often see both films playing in a night). Although we don't go nearly that often, it's a great place.

For clothes there's Revival, which sells the most wonderful second-hand stuff I've ever come across. I bought my most successful dress there and it cost me nine bucks. A less picky, but still fun place for clothes is Eye in the Sky which seems to have the most fabulous incense smell (I don't like incense, but they obviously have a line to nice stuff that I've never had the oppurtunity to buy).

Tora Tattoos put in my nose ring lo many moons ago. And as I regret taking it out, I'm sure one of these days they will be putting one in again.

Wordsworth Books rocks my bookstore world. I love them. They love books. They know books. And they should stay in business forever as far as I'm concerned. Although it's a little far away to be local, The Bookshelf in Guelph also deserves huge props for their book knowledge and selection. Really though, I'm more of a used book kind of shopper and so I am forever in love with Macondo, Second Look, K-W Book Exchange, and Casablanca.

That's all I can think of right now. But I really like shopping at local places. I know those people, I would miss them if I moved away. They know me and they remember things that I like (the people at the Raintreee know that I like my coffee black and they also let me sit and write on a couple of black coffees).

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2000

Just past the Hooters on the corner and up the street from me is one of the most fantastic grocery stores in the whole wide world, Jungle Jim's.

This place is huge, people. They've bought a monorail system from King's Island (an amusement park) so that people who have to park out in B.F.E. can have a pleasant ride in and out of the store. They always have free samples, especially in their cheese department. And little scoops of ice cream.

They have an animatronic bear that's dressed like fat Elvis and sings Elvis songs every five minutes. They have a boat in the middle of the store with animatronic breakfast cereal characters playing in a band. Lucky the Leprechaun is the lead guitarist. Rock!

They sell stuff like frozen rattlesnake (which no one has bought in the past five years, still priced at $63.97 for the whole 10 pound thing, coiled on a piece of styrofoam) and coconut vinegar. I can get Canadian Smarties and Bourneville chocolate and Flake bars and I can find any obscure item Martha Stewart insists on being in one of her high-falutin' recipes.

Y'all can come visit me and we'll have a field trip. I usually get out of there in 3 hours for regular grocery shopping.

-- Anonymous, August 22, 2000