Arrested Development
Tennessee? Tennessee? Nope, actually Mississippi is the topic here, particularly the town/city of Vicksburg. I recently returned from a trip to this abyss of modern culture. It was actually my second time there in a month, but the first time that I noticed what was missing.
The population is about 45K, but there is a definite lack of businesses that you would normally see in a town of that size. It seems that the majority of common chain retailers are not there. Of course your major, behemoth companies are there like McDonalds and Wal-Mart, but they are everywhere. I’m sure that the day after we find a way to live on Mars there will be a Wal-Mart supercenter under construction.
Back in Vburg however, you won’t find much more than Wal-Mart. No Chili’s, Applebee’s, Starbucks, or any of the other usual suspects you should see. In fact, the Vicksburg visitor’s guide that I perused in my hotel room really illustrates what I’m trying to say here. It’s your typical visitor’s guide with listings for hotels, restaurants, shopping, and attractions. However, this town’s offerings are not exactly what I would call typical.
The hotel listings featured a motel with rooms starting at $20.50 a night. I think the name of it was “Crack Whore Motel”, but I’m not sure. It had listed under its amenities ‘remote control 25” color television’. The only thing missing was its AAA Diamond rating. Under the restaurant section, they actually listed all the fast food places in town. Well, they pretty much had to, since without them there would be only four entries there. I was particularly impressed with the inclusion of ‘Corndog 7’, complete with review, star rating, and entrée price listing. Very important information, that for some unknown reason Zagat missed in their guide.
So, why the lack of chain retailers in Vicksburg? I spoke with some locals to try and figure it out. Based on what I heard it seems that the town is operated by some sort of Confederate mafia, consisting of old, General Lee types, who were probably born during the Civil War. Think of the Sopranos meets Hee Haw, without the musical numbers. It is that typical ‘good ole boy network’ in full swing. The local politicians are all friends of local businessmen, and help to make it a nightmare for chain retailers who try to setup shop. The idea I suppose is to keep the small business people safe from the evils of the ‘big box stores’.
I can understand the desire to protect your constituents and keep small businesses alive, but the big picture is that it will result in clearing out the city. People there already told me that they drive to Jackson, 45 minutes away, to go out to eat, or do most shopping. When your evening consists of fine dining at Corndog 7, I can see why.
The population is about 45K, but there is a definite lack of businesses that you would normally see in a town of that size. It seems that the majority of common chain retailers are not there. Of course your major, behemoth companies are there like McDonalds and Wal-Mart, but they are everywhere. I’m sure that the day after we find a way to live on Mars there will be a Wal-Mart supercenter under construction.
Back in Vburg however, you won’t find much more than Wal-Mart. No Chili’s, Applebee’s, Starbucks, or any of the other usual suspects you should see. In fact, the Vicksburg visitor’s guide that I perused in my hotel room really illustrates what I’m trying to say here. It’s your typical visitor’s guide with listings for hotels, restaurants, shopping, and attractions. However, this town’s offerings are not exactly what I would call typical.
The hotel listings featured a motel with rooms starting at $20.50 a night. I think the name of it was “Crack Whore Motel”, but I’m not sure. It had listed under its amenities ‘remote control 25” color television’. The only thing missing was its AAA Diamond rating. Under the restaurant section, they actually listed all the fast food places in town. Well, they pretty much had to, since without them there would be only four entries there. I was particularly impressed with the inclusion of ‘Corndog 7’, complete with review, star rating, and entrée price listing. Very important information, that for some unknown reason Zagat missed in their guide.
So, why the lack of chain retailers in Vicksburg? I spoke with some locals to try and figure it out. Based on what I heard it seems that the town is operated by some sort of Confederate mafia, consisting of old, General Lee types, who were probably born during the Civil War. Think of the Sopranos meets Hee Haw, without the musical numbers. It is that typical ‘good ole boy network’ in full swing. The local politicians are all friends of local businessmen, and help to make it a nightmare for chain retailers who try to setup shop. The idea I suppose is to keep the small business people safe from the evils of the ‘big box stores’.
I can understand the desire to protect your constituents and keep small businesses alive, but the big picture is that it will result in clearing out the city. People there already told me that they drive to Jackson, 45 minutes away, to go out to eat, or do most shopping. When your evening consists of fine dining at Corndog 7, I can see why.
posted by chadsta at 7:57 AM
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