I believe in the good in people. Yes, I know there are many bad things that go on in the world and I am fully aware how circumstances can make people do terrible things. But I am always filled with hope when I see people come together for the collective good. Those who know me or follow this blog, know how much I value strong communities made up of people that know and support one another. And I value the uniqueness you experience as you travel to different places in the country and the world. In a time when big box stores and big chains have pushed out mom and pop businesses, we have lost a great deal of that uniqueness. We have supported that sameness as we build new tracts of homes and new developments that push us to urban sprawl ambiguity. We get in our cars and run our errands to purchase the same things everyone else has. While taking a road trip, we pull into McDonald’s instead of getting off the highway to discover a neighborhood diner. We meet at Applebees in a big mall, so we don’t have to hassle with parking in the city to go to someplace cool. That sameness has become accepted. And we have lost a great deal because of that acceptance.
Our neighborhood coffee shop, which had been in business for over 10 years, closed up shop suddenly last week, and it hit many people in the neighborhood hard. It was a community gathering spot, in addition to being a place to get a good cup of coffee and the best egg and cheese bagel sandwich I have ever had. There were lots of people commenting in support of the local coffee shop in response to two articles in the business section of the Democrat & Chronicle. As usual, there were a lot of nonconstructive negative comments, which seems to be a frequent occurrence on the site. Many people told us to quit our complaining, drive to a franchise and give up on our bohemian quest for uniqueness. Another commenter told us to move to Disneyland if we wanted an idyllic neighborhood experience. I respect that everyone is different and they choose to live and do things that I might not choose to do. But both Adam and I refuse to abandon the desire for a strong neighborhood with unique character. And we discovered as more and more people posted positive and constructive comments that outweighed those negative ones, that we are not alone in that quest.
People arrived at the coffee shop one after another and read the news. Many gathered outside to figure out what we could do as a community. We posted a flier and invited anyone to comment and share ideas on our little neighborhood association web site. Several people took the bull by the horns, met with the owner of the building and prospective renters and shared our concerns with the loss of a neighborhood anchor. Others drafted a letter (with signatures of supporters) about what we would do as a neighborhood to support another business that would preserve a neighborhood gathering spot.
Everyone who was saddened by the loss of our coffee shop knows how hard it is to run a business in the current economic climate. We also know how hard it is to compete with big national chains that can buy in bulk and weather economic ebbs & flows through shared costs across many stores. The corner property is in high demand. Who rents the property is ultimately the owner’s decision. But knowing that what you do affects a neighborhood is an important thing to be aware of as a landlord. Our relationships build strong neighborhoods. If we don’t establish any, we don’t have a community.
Regardless of the outcome, we were all affected by the mere fact that we came together for a common cause. And we will come together again every chance we get to defend our value of vibrant and healthy neighborhoods in which we know and support one another. Little by little, this is how we will — together — do big things.
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