As we go about doing our regular grocery shopping and activities, we have started noticing long-running neighborhood stores closing one after another.

My fave BBQ place is gone, as i've mentioned before. Luckily, a new BBQ vendor is taking over its place.

One unique thing that we've noticed here in the area is that, particularly for restaurants, these stores do not really have (or need) too much traffic to survive. Other than the usual peak hours for lunch, and that's if they are good/lucky, restaurants more often than not get rather small customer base.

A 3-generation family-ran furniture store that's nearby to our place has closed too. A cinema chain closed its doors in the town center mall. And a record breaking opening and closing of a "Uniquely Australian" store in the same mall. That was probably a wrong business decision, trying to sell aussie goods in a american city.

Almost as bad as placing a highly critical security-focused service in a operational focus group.