As we patiently wait for the coronavirus pandemic to come to an end and the government to reopen the country, there have been plenty of people on Facebook saying that we need to buy local and support small businesses when things get back to normal. It is a great idea and obviously something that will help the economy, particularly in a localized manner.
However, I have a few problems with some of the ideas tossed out there. First of all, I get pushing people from shopping at Walmart or Target. But then for some reason people always lump Starbucks in there. And yeah, it would be great if everyone went out and supported that local coffee shop, but you should probably be sure that your local Starbucks is not actually local.
What do I mean? Franchises. Before the Ebensburg Starbucks opened up, Lindsey and I joked about opening one there. I actually went to the website and looked into the franchise information. Granted, it was out of our price range, but you get the idea. Or maybe you do not. What I am saying is that the national franchise in your area, could be owned by a local person. Maybe it is some young couple who poured all of their money into it. Who knows. Granted, there are franchises that are owned by huge ownership groups that are not all that local, but even then…what about those people who work there?
Seriously, the employees are local. The barista at your local Starbucks is from the area. Trust me, no one is commuting two hours to make coffee. And this is not some defense of Starbucks. There are tons of other franchises that are locally owned.
And I have not even mentioned regional businesses. I think most of you know where I work. We are a fairly large company, but we are located mostly in western PA, with a few exceptions. If you pay attention to the Pittsburgh news, you know that we have helped a couple organizations by providing food. Yet, when I see stories posted on Facebook and read the comments, people will say how they want to support small mom & pop restaurants.
See the problem? Basically, just shop and dine where you want. It does not matter. You will be helping the local economy. Even if you shop at Walmart. They will pay their employees, who will then use that money to buy stuff somewhere else.
