"The X Is Closed Down!"

A friend recently observed that I'm often upset by the closure of local restaurants, retail outlets and the like- even ones that I never have been to. It's true. I retorted that I was upset in such cases because I never have been to the place in question and now I never will be. It's a moment of deep regret when I pass a place that I've been meaning to patronize forever and see a lease sign up. I feel the loss to myself and I am keenly aware of the loss to the business on account of everyone like me who failed to keep them afloat for want of motivation.

There are practical reasons to be bothered by a closure. Relatively few places are opening up these days, and plenty are closing. Every store that closes diminishes the local tax base. Their workers are laid off, and they are no longer able to patronize other businesses, whose workers are in turn laid off to save the business, if in fact it can be saved. It's a devastating cycle, and perhaps unreasonably I see a part in it played by me.

I might ease my mind by patronizing a broader range of places, or I might concentrate my precious dollars on a few places. Whatever the case, I think I would be best focusing on independent businesses. They say that with chains, the money spent there invariably leaves town. Money spent in an independent stays close. It's unfortunate that so much of what I spend at restaurants is in fact at chains, but I'm no perfect consumer.

I've mainly been in this neighborhood for some three years, and there are so many places within walking distance I haven't been to. This is not to say that I'm going to act on this plan, but the plan is to stick to the best of the places I've been to while picking off the outstanding nearby places one by one, adding the best of those to a rotation of sorts. If I were to stick to such a plan, I'd feel better about doing my part to stem the tide of closures.