Yum ... !

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

--virgil

 Have you guys noticed how  that in the clothing departments of all those big ass stores,  their customers  are bombarded with imgaes of children made to look like little adults in everyway?

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

--virgil

 And, sometimes ( quite often, actually ) adult models are made to  evoke the resemblance to young girls .

--virgil

Why not take a moment to look around at all the vacant commercial space all over town and consider the Mom and Pop businesses that will never come to be because they can't compete?

Bullcrap.  Look at the Ace Hardware on Rosedale.  Still in business, even though Lowes and HD are just down  the street.

Vanity name one you remember gone ..............  then think of all the companies that moved out of the old buildings into the modern ones....... that was the real problem not Walmart.......They built thousands of new commercial buildings and only a hundred new companies came here.....eye on the ball.....not wishful thinking.......blame game.......Oh your right that horse shoeing place closed a while back .....

The new Walmart Super Center opens today.  They are moving 360 existing employees to the new location and adding another 455 according to the article in todays paper.  That's a total of 815 jobs.  How many mom stores would it take to hire that many people?  And that's just ONE store out of the three.

When I first moved to Tehachapi in the early 70's, the kids either went to work in the cement plants, the orchards, the prison, or they moved away.  As much as I hated the growth I also hated the inconvenience of no shopping and the fact that the kids couldn't find employment.  The businesses were family owned so their kids got first shot at what few jobs there were and not many businesses hired many people anyway.

There are always pros and cons and we will never be able to go back to "the good old days."  When population grows, the need for employment grows and on and on it goes like a vicious cycle.  The mom and pop businesses that offer a service will always be around. 

And refi, the horseshoers are still around...they just don't operate out of a blacksmith shop and haven't for at least 40 years that I know of.  (my ex used to be a shoer and is a member of the Blacksmith society)

Nancy, where is this new Wal-Mart located? So i can check it out.

Panama and 99.  Right behind In and Out burgers and next to Lowes.

My guess is it  will be a zoo today.

Thanks Nancy, guess I'll have to go when it settles down a bit.

In a city the size of Bakersfield with all of its cookie cutter stores, WalMart will not affect the mom and pops no more than the Home Depots, Lowes, and all the other big chain stores.

This might be a valid argument if one was opening in Bodfish.

The only two examples I  can think of ....Walmart on Rosedale and Walmart of Tulare ....

When Walmart opened on Rosedale Hywy the only thing on this side of town was the Kmart ...now well ....let the area of shopping, food in both directions speak for it self ...Subways ( mom and pop store) and many other grew  ...Tulare built a whole new part of a City around the Walmart ...then came the outlet mall then came well subways ( mom and pop store) 

I cant think of one Walmart that killed off Mom and Popp stores that werent already on the way out...... Jim's Swamp coolers, Tom's Horese shoer and feed store ......

And all them stores look the same,  too !

we like that .

--virgil

This might be a valid argument if one was opening in Bodfish.

What the hell is a Bodfish? 

A pimple on god's butt, outside of Lake Isabella and to the east of kerntown's canyon.

--virgil

Bullcrap.  Look at the Ace Hardware on Rosedale.  Still in business, even though Lowes and HD are just down  the street.

the only reason they get away with charging double what home despot and (B)Lowes does is it would cost the people who live closer to ACE that much in gas just to get to HD and L....

its a 15-20 minute drive from where i live to get to those stores, and only like 5 minutes to get to ACE

Geez virgil.  Do you read the posts?  Not "where" is Bodfish.  What is a bodfish?  Is it an actual fish?  I heard there were some fish in the Kern above the lake that were 4-5 feet long.  Are those "bodfish"?  Or is "bodfish" not actually a fish but  just another name for "place where pissed off old people and  tweekers with no jobs live"?

 Privately owned nieghborhood stores are better.

They contribute, in an important way, to the stability of a community.

--virgil

"Geez virgil ... "

I think it's just a pimple ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

--virgil

Bodfish !

--virgil

That mud puddle in the back ground is Lake Isabella.

--virgil

Virgil ...like Family Motors.......................

 Yes .

But, I bet Bodfish is cleaner than Family Motors.

--virgil

Joking aside,

Where would you go to get better tacos - Not el pollo loco ?

I would go to La Mina !

--virgil

In the same way, I'd prefer Dagny's  over a starbucks store any day.

--virgil

Maybe you can afford to buy all your groceries at a corner market..I can't.    Maybe you can afford to buy your clothes at exclusive locally owned stores...I can't.  Maybe you can afford dishes from Olcotts...I can't.

And by the way, I don't want to catch any of you pro local businesses folks shopping at Pennys, Sears or Macy's.  And I SURE better not see you sneaking into ANY big box stores.

 I cant think of one Walmart that killed off Mom and Popp stores that werent already on the way out

I can think of a few towns but you'd have to leave California and go to the midwest or the south.

Sullivan, Indiana

Franklin, Indiana

Baker, Louisiana

Those are a few that come to mind.

It's not just WalMart, though.  It's more like a sign of the times.  Every city is starting to look the same with the cookie cutter stores.

  I would go to La Mina !

La Mina is animal backwards...I used to like Andre's on Brundage until they started cooking baby food and tried to pass it off as a hamburger and pastrami.

There is this real neat Thai buffet restaurant in Lawton, Oklahoma where mamasan comes out and cooks the food when you enter the restaurant.  If I ever become a General, I'm going to hire her to be my personal chef. 

We've already started on our race to the bottom.  Mom and pop purchase their goods from the same sweatshops as the big boys.

It takes maximum effort to buy local (glocal?).

jf, you're right; it isn't towns like Bako that get hurt by WM, it is in the small towns where they have opened. Try any Oklahoma small town that has a WM, the downtown is either vacant or has lots of antique places. Sad. You've got to love that old free market.

Main street is no more.  You might as well put it on the historical society list now and start charging people while the buildings still stand.  Let them know that is how it used to be.

What are we going to do with all the vacant Wal-Mart buildings across America?  Turn them into city halls?

Chester Ave. used to be our main street.  Baker Street, too.

I shop at Cosco for food, and usually nothing else.  I shop at Walmart only in extreme circumstances (if I need a plunger at 3 a.m., that super walmart will probably be the only place in town open).

I shop at Cosco for food, and usually nothing else.  I shop at Walmart only in extreme circumstances (if I need a plunger at 3 a.m., that super walmart will probably be the only place in town open).

I'm not apologetic.  I shop where I can find cheap affordable produce to include WalMart.  The Valley makes produce for the whole world.  I'm not big on any type of clothing with logos all over it (Nike, Reebok, etc.)  I think they are all made in the same sweatshops, we are merely wearing our corporate uniform when we sport the logo.

It's free advertisement and they didn't even have to pay you.  At least Tiger got $120 million. You ain't pimping me for free.

Times change and we change with them.  Refi mentioned shops for shoeing horses and I was joking with him.  But the reality is that shop we needed in the past are no longer needed.  Wheelright shops became auto repair and tire shops.  We still need shoe repair shops but some also sell shoes to supplement their business due to our throwaway society.  You can buy a pair of sandals for what you can have them repaired for.

We keep wishing for things that are gone and not coming back.  I see nothing wrong with downtown being a banking and court district with boutiques and eateries..just like it is.  When downtowns were a vital part of our lives, we didn't live 10 miles from the center.  Life has changed folks, it just isn't the same any more thaan the 1800's were the same as the 1950's.

Jf, I cracked up when I read you "pimping" comment.  I feel EXACTLY the same way.  Why should I buy thier sweatshirt with THEIR logo on it?  They should be giving it to me for advertising.  All that sort of thing is, is status symbolism.  "Hey, look at me, look what I can afford."

edit...FSG, they sell plungers at Winco, it's open 24 hours AND it's employee owned.  That should make you feel better about shopping there.

When I took Home Economics in Jr. High (do they still call it that), my teacher, Ms Abercrombie, explained the concept of "endorsing".  It made me question my obsession with Nikes and name brands.  Now that I'm older and not as susceptible to peer pressure, I don't roll like that no mo'.

I don't have to wear name brands to prove my worth.  In high school, you did it to be in.  My kids think I'm cool enough because I watch SpongBob with them.

Dang it, Virgil.  You blew the margins.  We know where Bodfish (and Ol' Muddy) is.

Nancy - thanks for the info.. never been to Winco, so didn't realize it was open 24 hours a day.

 "Jf, I cracked up when I read you "pimping" comment. "

Then some people don't give a rat's ass about the quality life that comes from local investment in the local economy.

Too bad for them .

You know, studies have shown life expectancy in places like Kern town to be significantly younger and the over all quality of life to be lower than  in other less stressful places to live ...

I think another riverwalk, up the canyon, should be planned with gondola boats and everything !

--virgil

I'm thinking that Abelita's taco trailer in the Texaco station lot next to In 'n Out will be a mom and pop that will see an increase in business because of the Walmart's opening.

I hope the cashiers get the hang of the registers soon....they are slow!

i hope this eases up some of the over crowding at the rosedale store...

i have to say ~ the extra jobs this opened-up cant hurt either.

Another potential plus: The White Lane Walmart will be closing, making for lighter traffic in that area so I can get into Valley Plaza from that direction easier.

 Then some people don't give a rat's ass about the quality life that comes from local investment in the local economy.

I think local investment has its place but I don't see the point on some products when they both come from the same place (the sweatshop or produce being picked by the same migrant workers).

If I was getting the oil changed in my car, I'll go to the local mechanic before I go to WalMart.  If I was seeking a plumber I'd call "Joe the Plumber" before I call RotoRooter.  If I'm hungry, I'll eat at The Pantry before I go to Dennys.

Some people in the glocal movement are buying nostalgia and not reality.

 The White Lane Walmart will be closing, making for lighter traffic in that area so I can get into Valley Plaza from that direction easier.

This is what shocks me of the opposition in Bakersfield.  I thought they'd love the decongestion of traffic.  They don't care about Mom and Pop!!!

spam code: fkyoo

Um, JF...no you won't. The Pantry closed at the beginning of the year. Looks like Donna Kaye's for you :-)

I believe the Pantry is closed Jf.  Sorry.

FSG if you go to Winco you'll be hooked.  WIDE aisle, tons of choices, great prices.  I just got a flyer and they have a page FULL of loss leaders.  10# of potatos for 68 cents for instance.

...(Sigh)...yeah, I know.  I was using it for hyperbole.  I guess I should have said Rocket Shop instead.  That's my new (old) place.  I hadn't been to that place since I was a young lad with my Pa.

I heard through the grapevine that it may be coming back.  My dad has been freinds with its previous owners.  I had been frequenting that place for over 30 years.

Where is Donna Kaye's?  I'll check it out.