Applebee's article

This appeared in the WSJ on Monday. I find it pretty sad to think of the decent local places going out of business due to this chain's rapid expansion. The food there is mediocre at best. It's all part of the "Wal-Marting" of America.



How Applebee's Is Making It Big In Small Towns

By Steven Gray
1,087 words
2 August 2004
The Wall Street Journal
B1
English
(Copyright (c) 2004, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

Hays, Kan. -- THE FRIDAY NIGHT crowd at the Applebee's here is so robust that nearly a dozen parties are waiting outside for tables. There are families, old folks, and young singles like Anne Speier and Rhonda Eckler, who're downing cocktails at a table near the window. "We just got paid and wanted to splurge a little bit," says the 25-year-old Ms. Speier.

Choosing Applebee's is easy in a place where there's little other choice. There is no Chili's. No Houlihan's. Not even a Bennigan's. In this community of roughly 21,000, Applebee's is the only brand-name casual dining restaurant.

The scene in Hays helps explain why Applebee's International Inc. is the star of the $440 billion restaurant industry. While competitors battle for space in the parking lots of suburban shopping malls, the Overland Park, Kan., chain is entering rural markets that never before boasted an upscale restaurant -- or at least one that passes for upscale hereabouts.

The rural-market strategy is part of Applebee's larger effort to be America's restaurant. Its roughly 1,600 units, the majority owned by franchisees, already make it the undisputed king of the industry's fastest-growing segment, casual dining. But Applebee's wants more. It wants its red-apple logo to be as recognized as the golden arches of McDonald's Corp. It wants to be the nation's most profitable restaurant chain.

Today it is the nation's ninth-largest restaurant chain and its strategy is simple: Be all things to all people. While competitors launch ethnic chains in pursuit of niches, the Applebee's menu offers it all: Asian, Italian, Mexican, American and more. For the time-pressed, Applebee's has sharply reduced how long it takes to receive and deliver orders. For the weight-conscious, it is the first restaurant ever to introduce meals approved by Weight Watchers meals, replete with caloric information.

Yet its most audacious move may be its invasion of towns such as Hays, which sits about 300 miles from Denver and 300 miles from Kansas City in a region known as the middle of nowhere. Ranches, farms, feedlots and slaughterhouses dominate the local economy. It's not exactly the kind of market one would expect to support a restaurant that offers salmon steaks and merlot. And Applebee's is taking a risk by opening its restaurant here, right next to a Wal-Mart along a big highway that cuts across the state.

But it's working, and the crowd in Hays offers insight into how rural diners have reacted. The biggest misperception about rural customers in general is that they're not interested in anything that can't be bought at Wal-Mart or its restaurant equivalent. Sitting in the Applebee's here one recent Friday evening, 21-year-old Brandon Weigel talked about the importance of full service, fancy meals and alcohol. "If you want to take someone out on a date," says Mr. Weigel, "you're not going to take them to the Golden Corral," an order-at-the-counter beef joint next door. That's quite an admission, considering that Mr. Weigel is a management trainee at the Golden Corral.

Rural diners have embraced Applebee's so affectionately that the company has opened 138 units in counties of 50,000 households or fewer. And 25% of its new restaurants are expected to open in such counties. The potential for this strategy is enormous. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 2,209 of the nation's 3,141 counties have estimated populations of 50,000 or less.

There are disadvantages to these markets. The rural units tend to rake in sales about 10% below the $2.3 million that suburban and urban restaurants bring in. And service mistakes all but make headlines in these places. "We have to execute well, because if you don't take care of people word gets around fast," says Steve Lumpkin, the company's chief financial officer.

But lower real-estate costs make for attractive margins at these outposts. And winning zoning approval is also much easier in towns that are desperate for new businesses. Indeed, the Kansas town of Derby, population 17,000, vigorously courted Applebee's for nearly a decade, and will celebrate the opening of one in September. Says Mayor Dion Avello, "We're a small town, and it's just fitting into our growth pattern of what we want -- a high-class restaurant, with a reliable name."

But the strategy's greatest virtue may be that small markets can't support two such restaurants. So there's no danger of Chili's setting up shop across the street.

Which isn't to say that Chili's, a unit of Brinker International Inc., isn't a concern. A pioneer of the bar & grill concept -- and the ruler of it until Applebee's raced past it -- Chili's boasts only slightly more than half as many restaurants as Applebee's these days. But it is growing still -- and in particular aping the Applebee's small-market strategy. Chili's recently entered Hot Springs, Ark.; Jacksonville, Texas; Lady Lake, Fla.; and Brownwood, Texas. Its plan is to continue finding strong, small markets that don't have an Applebee's. "When you get to markets with 25,000 or less, it's going to be the first person there gets it," says Todd Diener, chief operating officer at Brinker.

Its small-town invasions clearly haven't hurt the image of Applebee's in the big city, where it continues growing and thriving. But these moves are putting the hurt on family-dining chains that traditionally dominated small markets -- players such as Shoney's, Denny's and Cracker Barrel.

Meanwhile, Applebee's is becoming something in small towns that it never did in large suburbs: a vital cog in the community. Applebee's managers are viewed as leaders in many small towns, often welcomed with a picture on the local newspaper's front page. The restaurants become places where high school seniors take post-prom dates. Garden clubs meet there, too. "Applebee's becomes a cultural piece of the community, and so this has been a wonderful strategy," says Mr. Lumpkin.

---


Neighborhood Hit

Number of restaurants as of March 2004:

Applebee's ......... 1,556

Chili's ............ 877

Ruby Tuesday ....... 688

T.G.I. Friday's .... 527

quote:

Originally posted by danimal15

This appeared in the WSJ on Monday. I find it pretty sad to think of the decent local places going out of business due to this chain's rapid expansion. The food there is mediocre at best. It's all part of the "Wal-Marting" of America.

The local places that deserve to be in business will stay in business. That is what happened here where I live. It is the places that were relying on being the only game in town that will fail. I don't think it is sad, it is reality. Give people something they really want, change if you aren't, evolve as needed, or be pushed to the side.

A few years back pizza-hut pushed into our area. The local places were much better and pizza-hut is now gone. The whole matter did prompt a lot of the locals to offer delivery and expand their menu a bit, which isn't so bad.

I travel to a lot of rural areas that don't have Wal-Mart and people are being charged twice the price for the same stuff at the local Western Auto or hardware store. Now that seems sad to me, as many are people who are least able to afford paying such high prices.

I readily understand what you mean when you talk about the "Wal-Marting of America", and also feel the changes to our landscape are often ugly and unfortunate, but he world is a changin'.

Tony:

I understand that the world is "a changin," as you put it. But if the world is changing for the worse, we shouldn't have a ho hum attitude about it.

I pose to you a question: Is it really worth tearing up the country with 100-acre parking lots and putting scores of independent retailers out of business just so we can save $1 on a wrench at Wal-Mart vs. what we might have paid at a place on Main Street? I don't think so. Of course, my argument isn't very timely. This has already happened.

The sad thing to me about the Applebee's article, when I really think about it, is that to these people out there in rural America, this is gourmet, fancy food. The thought of people getting dressed up to take their date to Applebee's on prom night is a depressing one. But I'm an elitist, and I know it shows, so don't bother telling me.

quote:

Originally posted by danimal15

Tony:

I understand that the world is "a changin," as you put it. But if the world is changing for the worse, we shouldn't have a ho hum attitude about it.

I pose to you a question: Is it really worth tearing up the country with 100-acre parking lots and putting scores of independent retailers out of business just so we can save $1 on a wrench at Wal-Mart vs. what we might have paid at a place on Main Street? I don't think so. Of course, my argument isn't very timely. This has already happened.

The sad thing to me about the Applebee's article, when I really think about it, is that to these people out there in rural America, this is gourmet, fancy food. The thought of people getting dressed up to take their date to Applebee's on prom night is a depressing one. But I'm an elitist, and I know it shows, so don't bother telling me.

I understand what you are saying, and agree with it. If I was the king, there would be no chain store or restaurants for some of the very reasons you mention. But, to answer your question, to the millions who shop at Wal-Mart, it is worth it. If it was just a $1 on a wrench, I don't think we'd be having this discussion, but it is a dollar on the wrench, and $2.50 on that detergent, and $1.75 on something else, and so on...and to many, that total makes the 100 paved acres worth it. I don't like it any better than you, but I understand it.

Progress is often ugly, but how do we stop it? As far as restaurants are concerned, good places can and will survive the onslaught of the chain restaurants. I have seen it happen.

As for the last image you paint, so what if people think that is gourmet food? If they are happy, who am I to judge. Applebee's is bland to me, but I have had a lot worse in my travels...a LOT worse.

quote:

Originally posted by Tony Bad
I readily understand what you mean when you talk about the "Wal-Marting of America", and also feel the changes to our landscape are often ugly and unfortunate, but he world is a changin'.

I read the Applebee's article on Monday and came close to posting it but was just a bit worried about copyright issues from posting the entire thing on a board so widely read as this. Anyway, I'm glad somebody did and unless there are objections from "the powers that be" I may post relevent articles in future.

As to Wal-Mart: I'll even admit to eating their "roadfood" (read "hot dogs" and "soft drinks") on occasion. But I am really glad they have a store in the town where my house in Arizona sits and look forward to the supercenter they are planning to build. In San Francisco, there is no Wal-Mart because the city government is opposed to "big box" retailers of any kind (there are a couple but it took years to build them: CostCo; Bed, Bath and Beyond). As a result, I feel I have to go to extraordinary lengths to avoid feeling ripped off when I shop. Everything seems like it's 50% more here--some things (cat litter!) are double what I pay in the AZ Wal-Mart. Lemons: SF market $.59 EACH, AZ Wal-Mart 10 for $1. It goes on and on.

I know there are "issues" about what Wal-Mart pays its staff and all that, but in AZ most of the people working there are retired seniors who seem pretty satisfied with a part-time job that earns them a little pocket change and gets them out of the house or teenagers earning money for a first car or school. Most of them probably don't need health insurance and the other things Wal-Mart has been bashed for not providing. But regardless of that, I do know that an awful lot of not-so-well-off people would be a lot less well off if they didn't have Wal-Mart as a place to buy essentials even if it's at the expense of a lesser number of not-so-well-off people who work there.

I understand the points everyone is making. Of course someone could save a lot of money at Wal-Mart, or get a job at Applebee's. Good for them.

The question is, what will happen to these places once the era of cheap gasoline comes to an end? And it will come, sooner than you may think. The big box stores and chain restaurants are totally dependent on people being able to afford a car and pay a low price for gas. If gas prices rise to $5 a gallon, a lot of people are going to be out of work, especially at places like Wal-Mart (has anyone ever walked to a Wal-Mart? I doubt it). I predict that if we came back here 100 years from now, most of the big-box stores will be crumbling, and their parking lots will be choked with weeds.

Letting these places into our communities is short-term thinking. It helps this generation - at least economically. But in the long-term, it's destructive to our country.

quote:

Originally posted by danimal15

I understand the points everyone is making. Of course someone could save a lot of money at Wal-Mart, or get a job at Applebee's. Good for them.

The question is, what will happen to these places once the era of cheap gasoline comes to an end? And it will come, sooner than you may think. The big box stores and chain restaurants are totally dependent on people being able to afford a car and pay a low price for gas. If gas prices rise to $5 a gallon, a lot of people are going to be out of work, especially at places like Wal-Mart (has anyone ever walked to a Wal-Mart? I doubt it). I predict that if we came back here 100 years from now, most of the big-box stores will be crumbling, and their parking lots will be choked with weeds.

Letting these places into our communities is short-term thinking. It helps this generation - at least economically. But in the long-term, it's destructive to our country.

Well, see, here's the other side of that. In my AZ community there are 25,000 people, a Wal-Mart, 3 supermarkets, 2 chain pharmacys and the odd assortment of small retailers (not all that many)--and, thank goodness, a few "roadfood" spots. Truth is, the only stores I could really walk to are a Walgreen's, an Ace Hardware and a roadfood spot or two (Dona's Diner!). But I could ride a bike--or maybe a motor scooter (using a teaspoon of gas) to Wal-Mart as could the other 25,000 of us (it being a retirement community, lots of people use electric golf carts as their primary transportation--the streets even have special lanes for them). Otherwise, we'd have to DRIVE 20-30 miles to Tucson to buy almost everything. So when the era of cheap gas comes to an end, I think we are all going to be even more greatful there's a Wal-Mart close by and I predict it'll stay open (but maybe with weeds in the lot except that we often don't get enough rain for weeds to survive).

quote:

Letting these places into our communities is short-term thinking. It helps this generation - at least economically. But in the long-term, it's destructive to our country.

Some would have felt and said the same things when the great prairies of the middle part of our country were plowed under to plant corn or land was clear cut to provide lumber that built the houses we all live in.

Tony, you dont think we are paying for all that clearcutting now? And i doubt many spoke up due to lack of information, and a sense that America was a limitless bounty.

All these issues are really just symptoms of a problem no one wants to seriously look at. Overpopulation.

quote:

Originally posted by renfrew

Tony, you dont think we are paying for all that clearcutting now? And i doubt many spoke up due to lack of information, and a sense that America was a limitless bounty.

You are correct, but we can take this type of discussion to the extreme that the simple act of drawing a breath is causing some degree of harm...and this whole breathing thing has proven quite addictive!

I am sorry if I steered this topic away from food...not my intention. Suffice it to say that I don't see the chain restaurants as the ruination of the kind of places we all enjoy. I am not even so sure that the kind of person who frequents chain restaurants would be inclined to frequent most road food places. I drove almost 50 miles out of my way recently to go to Butler's Donuts in MA, yet there are some chain donut places just down the street that were also busy. Why on earth would someone eat a mass produced donut when what may be one of the best donut places in the country is just down the road? Got me.

quote:

Originally posted by BT

So when the era of cheap gas comes to an end, I think we are all going to be even more greatful there's a Wal-Mart close by and I predict it'll stay open (but maybe with weeds in the lot except that we often don't get enough rain for weeds to survive).

BT:

I don't mean to get on your case, but do you really think Wal-Mart as a corporation will survive the end of the cheap gasoline era? Come on! Where do you think all the stuff it sells is manufactured? Mostly in China and places like that. And how does it get to your hometown? By ships and trucks. And how are those machines powered? By gasoline. It's all a house of cards and it will crumble, mark my words. In our lifetimes.

Dan

quote:

Originally posted by renfrew

Tony, you dont think we are paying for all that clearcutting now? And i doubt many spoke up due to lack of information, and a sense that America was a limitless bounty.

All these issues are really just symptoms of a problem no one wants to seriously look at. Overpopulation.

And the perfect roadfood solution....

Soylent Green.

You can have all these esoteric discussions about WalMart and Applebee's but the fact of the matter is that Applebee's sucks. There is not one thing on their menu that I want. My wife likes the Oriental salad for take out so I go next door to BK.........yuck.

Cakes

quote:

Originally posted by Cakes

You can have all these esoteric discussions about WalMart and Applebee's but the fact of the matter is that Applebee's sucks. There is not one thing on their menu that I want. My wife likes the Oriental salad for take out so I go next door to BK.........yuck.

Cakes

I don't think their food is good either but if people in small town USA are flocking to their doors, maybe the alternatives, which may be more appealing in the mom and pop, or road food style, had even worse food! I have had meals in places (at the direction of locals)that would choke a maggot.

At present I live in area that may have the highest concentration of fast food, chain restaurants on the planet, yet there are local places that have lines out the door from sun up to sunset. Good food...make it and they will come!

I am not usually one to shy away from this kind of sociological discouse but in an attempt to bring this back to true essence of Roadfood.com, when in Hays, KS, one should be eating fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy at Al's Chickenette. Truly fine, independently-owned eats in the middle of nowhere.

quote:

Originally posted by danimal15

BT:

I don't mean to get on your case, but do you really think Wal-Mart as a corporation will survive the end of the cheap gasoline era? Come on! Where do you think all the stuff it sells is manufactured? Mostly in China and places like that. And how does it get to your hometown? By ships and trucks. And how are those machines powered? By gasoline. It's all a house of cards and it will crumble, mark my words. In our lifetimes.

Dan

Well, if it crumbles to that extent, I think we'll all have a lot more to worry about than the closure of Wal-Mart. I've got a prickly pear cactus in my yard and a mesquite tree. The local Native Americans got by eating mesquite flour and prickly pear pads (and fruits). I guess I can to.

quote:

Originally posted by Cakes

You can have all these esoteric discussions about WalMart and Applebee's but the fact of the matter is that Applebee's sucks. There is not one thing on their menu that I want. My wife likes the Oriental salad for take out so I go next door to BK.........yuck.

Cakes

Guess what: I've never eaten at Applebees, don't even know where there is one and don't much care. In fact, I can't recall the last time I ate in a "casual dining" chain establishment (maybe it was a Ruby Tuesday in Tucson 2 years or so ago). But no matter how lousy (or not) Applebee's food, I don't think they are the ruination of civilization. Restaurants are one area of business where quality matters. A bad chain isn't likely to drive a good independent out of business because no matter how cheap it is, people won't buy food they dislike.

On the other hand, as I've been saying, a jar of Heinz pickles is a jar of Hienz pickles and if Wal-Mart sells 'em for half the price of the giant chain supermarket in the next mall up the road, I'm buying mine from Wal-Mart (until the gas runs out).

I really have tried to stay out of this one. I don't care for Applebee's and frankly only show interest in the article because it looks like smart marketing to meet the need of consumers who aren't being taken care of other places.

BUT, That said, I can't let this go by-
danimal said in a post abov-----The sad thing to me about the Applebee's article, when I really think about it, is that to these people out there in rural America, this is gourmet, fancy food. The thought of people getting dressed up to take their date to Applebee's on prom night is a depressing one. But I'm an elitist, and I know it shows, so don't bother telling me.

Well I'm gonna bother.

Now if you have favorite Roadfood places that qualify as a good target for a Prom Date (remember who the target customer is) Then list them out here. To me the Dixie Truck stop is not a great Prom Dinner goal. On the other hand Morton's isn't within the reach of the typical prom goer these days.

But it appears that your patronizing attitude as you sit up on the Urban Throne tossing scraps to the Little Folk along the country road is a bit much for this particular rural living lover to absorb quietly.

Kids need the experience of eating in a place that uses mutiple forks and cloth napkins. They need to decide from a fairly wide selection of choices. AND when they reach the point of affluence that they can afford to step up in location choices, they need to be ready to experiment with a variety of food experiences.
If their community has only some fast food places and one or more of the chains that is a step up, why bad-mouth their choice.

I have fond memories of one of my sons ordering Ribs at TGIF on a Prom Date. His White Tux was a mess in less time than I can say. It was a lesson he hasn't forgotten over the past 14 years. If they gain the learning experience at a chain restaurant, so what. They have to learn somewhere, and your 'looking down on them' is uncalledfor.

Sorry if I sound bent out of shape...but you better not be getting a parking ticket in the Mayor's town for awhile. It could be good for a few days sitting playing checkers with Barney.

Thanks for the tongue lashing, Al. I probably deserved it. And I'll avoid your town for a while.

I didn't mean to make this into an anti-rural thing. Most of the best roadfood establishments are outside the big urban areas. And most aren't places to take a date.

And just so you all know that I'm not a total snob, I have eaten at Chiles and found the fajitas to be acceptable. If I were in that town again, I might actually go back. And my one visit to Outback Steakhouse, a similar type establishment, was enjoyable. But Applebee's I'll continue to avoid.

I ate at Applebees once- it was duting Passover and I took my daughter and her friends to see an absolutley dreadful movie, Afterward, they were hungry, so I took them to applbees, since it was the only thing other than a Pizzeria nearby ( and you don't want to be in a pizzeria during Passover) and the ONLY things that were passable on the menu were potato skins with no bacon and cheese fries!

Not my type of place when there are no food restirctions either!

Danimal,
I feel much better now. Y'know I used to take out all this hostility on my students..since retiring I have to find someone to bear the brunt of these weighty opinions !! Guess you just tracked mud on my rug at the right time. I do agree we have avoided Applebee's (and O'Charley's and TGIF and etc etc) as much as possible. I must admit I do like the Lamb Ribs served at Outback and a couple of the tall brews go well with that.
Anyway...All you guys can come out now..The flaming war is over ! Danimal, I owe you a beer at the first gathering that we all show up for.

quote:

Originally posted by danimal15

Thanks for the tongue lashing, Al. I probably deserved it. And I'll avoid your town for a while.

I didn't mean to make this into an anti-rural thing. Most of the best roadfood establishments are outside the big urban areas. And most aren't places to take a date.

Duuuuuude! You are from Chicago! I've only spent maybe a total of 10 days there in my life, but mostly I went there to EAT and some mighty fine roadfood was found within the city limits (or at least the range of the "El"). Same could be said for New York, New Orleans, Boston or any other place with an ethnic population and some history behind it.

You want a date in a rural area--take her to the French Laundry (Yountville, CA)--"Chef's tasting menu" $150 per person and I assure you they have both white tablecloths and multiple forks. http://www.frenchlaundry.com/tfl/tfloverview.htm

Why Applebee's Should Worry Us

The most recent decade of my life was spent in a small midwestern town with a mid-sized university. This place however, cannot by any stretch of the imagination be classified as a university town.

And it was because of chains- both stores and restaurants. They were all located along the main drag in town (located in the opposite direction of the established businesses downtown). The students saw the chains on their way to visit campus and then never branched out to try anything new.

They missed the whole town- and all because they didn't know it was there. To them the university became the only worthwhile thing in town- because they saw the town as just another assortment of Applebee's, Bob Evans, Wal-Mart, and McDonald's. They never thought to eat a doughnut from a local bakery (all located off the main drag), walk around downtown, see community theatre, go rollerskating in the arena, or visit the local greenway. Instead their world was the same homogenized superWalmart environment they've always known. And they didn't think there was anything else to be found.

A group of students I took to London would beeline to any Burger King or Pizza Hut rather than exploring comparably priced pubs and ethnic restaurants. (sooo sad for them... the alternatives were often quite delicious!)

Another staff member and I eventually put together a program to introduce students to unique aspects of the town (restaurants, events, entertainment, etc.), and something really happened. Students suddenly saw themselves as in a real place (not the waiting room that many college students consider the Midwest) and they found a multitude of new ways to amuse themselves. The students had higher satisfaction with the town, the university, and themselves. They became far more likely to be involved in continuing community service.

Best of all- they loved showing their discoveries to other students. The initial information has taken on a life of its own. Now, during the school year, when I hit my favorite places there are lines and crowds where there weren't before.

We are losing our communities as people find nothing special to invest themselves in. If every place is exactly like another- video games quickly become the most interesting reality.

Curiousity should be rewarded with discovery. Isn't that what Roadfood is about? The journey and the destination?

citizengeek-

absoultely. We alway try to find unique and interesting places and my kids, who are now 13 and 10, always try to find something we have never had before (an increasingly difficult task). When I was 14 (back in 74) I went on a teen tour in the summer. The first day we were in SOuth Dakota and I ordered a buffalo burger. I had never hadbuffalo- it wasn't common at all in New YOrk back then, and all the other kids on the tour looked at me and gasped. I said "well, I can't get htis in Bklyn" and I marked myself the first day as a weirdo. I do everything in my power to avoid subjecting my kids to homogonized same everywhere you go food. WHere's the fun in that???????

quote:

We are losing our communities as people find nothing special to invest themselves in. If every place is exactly like another- video games quickly become the most interesting reality.

Curiosity should be rewarded with discovery. Isn't that what Roadfood is about? The journey and the destination?

Kind of a chicken or egg issue in my mind. Is the chain restaurant the bad guy or are they thriving because of other factors? I tend to think it is the latter. Many parents prefer to envelope their kids in activities led by others rather than taking the reins themselves. Children are naturally curious, but alike a flower that gets no water, that curiosity will wither if not properly maintained.

As for the question of us "losing our communities as people find nothing special to invest themselves in."...once again, which is the symptom, which is the disease? Is the problem a lack of things to invest themselves in, or is the community falling apart because people aren't looking for things to invest themselves in? Once again, I tend to think it is the latter...and you can't blame that on Applebee's. If people place no value on local food or the existence of main street USA I think the chain restaurant is the result not the cause.

Back in 1967, my family and I moved to Chipley, FL, which at the time
was your typical sleepy, unchanged Southern town: when you went
around the curve past the funeral home, that was it. But it took one
catalyst to get the ball rolling toward change and that was the
opening of I-10 back in 1978.
At first it was just two convenience/gas stations, but the first
real sign of progress was a new hospital and shopping center across
the street with an unusual small (and intimate) Pizza Hut built in.
And then after that, the floodgates opened up: Mcd's, Hardees,Subway,
all being capped off by the opening of the Wal-Mart SC 10 years ago,
but some of the old-timers didn't want it here because of that old
pre-1960's mentality to keep Chipley small.
No, the downtown sector hasn't died - people still have to go into
town to bank and take care of affairs (govt., etc.), but it's doing
OK and we've been an Amtrak stop since 1993 (something Panama City
or Dothan can't claim despite them having 10 times the population
(Chipley's about 3-5,000) of us). But the grocer who owns the
Piggly-Wiggly downtown still has never been to the WM because he's
so worried it will ruin his business. Well Carl, you haven't closed
yet, so there's room for you, Save-A-Lot, Wal-Mart, and all the
other grocers in the neighboring towns trying to compete.
Applebee's isn't here, but we're doing quite well - next up: the
four-laning of 77 to PC and the possible I-10 connector from the
beach to Dothan, so change continues ever so gradually....

quote:

Originally posted by rmcielwain


Back in 1967, my family and I moved to Chipley, FL, which at the time
was your typical sleepy, unchanged Southern town: when you went
around the curve past the funeral home, that was it. But it took one
catalyst to get the ball rolling toward change and that was the
opening of I-10 back in 1978.
At first it was just two convenience/gas stations, but the first
real sign of progress was a new hospital and shopping center across
the street with an unusual small (and intimate) Pizza Hut built in.
And then after that, the floodgates opened up: Mcd's, Hardees,Subway,
all being capped off by the opening of the Wal-Mart SC 10 years ago,
but some of the old-timers didn't want it here because of that old
pre-1960's mentality to keep Chipley small.
No, the downtown sector hasn't died - people still have to go into
town to bank and take care of affairs (govt., etc.), but it's doing
OK and we've been an Amtrak stop since 1993 (something Panama City
or Dothan can't claim despite them having 10 times the population
(Chipley's about 3-5,000) of us). But the grocer who owns the
Piggly-Wiggly downtown still has never been to the WM because he's
so worried it will ruin his business. Well Carl, you haven't closed
yet, so there's room for you, Save-A-Lot, Wal-Mart, and all the
other grocers in the neighboring towns trying to compete.
Applebee's isn't here, but we're doing quite well - next up: the
four-laning of 77 to PC and the possible I-10 connector from the
beach to Dothan, so change continues ever so gradually....

I'm one of those folks who've passed by Chipley any number of times on the "Sunset Limited" (usually travelling between New Orleans and Jacksonville or Deland) and it always looks like such a nice little town--as you describe it pre-Wal-Mart. Of course, I'm usually in a pretty good mood when passing Chipley because I'm either nearly at the end of a long journey from the West to visit relatives in Daytona or on my way home via New Orleans where I know I'll have some great chow. Anyway, I've always been curious about it and your post satisfied some of my curiosity. Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by citizengeek

Why Applebee's Should Worry Us

The students saw the chains on their way to visit campus and then never branched out to try anything new.

This post has me very puzzled. Either students have changed or Midwestern students aren't like Easterners. I went to 2 schools on the East Coast (one in Baltimore, one in a small city in North Carolina). Especially in Baltimore when I was living away from home for the first time, I LOVED exploring the city and eating what might now be called "roadfood" (little Italian places in East Baltimore row houses, Atmans's deli, Harry Little's and the B&M for subs, anything from the Lexington and North Ave. Markets and on and on). I used to walk from the campus in the northern part of the city (N. Charles St. for Baltimoreans) all the way to the harbor and explore the neighborhoods on the way, some of which had a pretty unsavory reputation then. Anyway, this was all a lot of fun. I can't imagine students closeting themselves on campus and eating at Burger King.

BT, left a second post in the Misc.-Newbies section about a week
ago if you haven't checked it out yet. One more thing about the
pre 60's - 70's Chipley: we had our own bottling plant, famous for
Pop-Kola (and other varieties), since long gone.
Strange thought: we're in the same state with Miami, South Beach,
and that crowd, 550 miles away, but light years difference,
culture-wise..... [|)]