How鈥檚 that old saying go again? 鈥榊ou don鈥檛 know what you鈥檝e got until it鈥檚 gone鈥�?
That phrase can be applied to many situations, and when I think about the rural landscape and where we call home, I believe it more than applies to the small town business sector.
If there鈥檚 one thing that hit home the most with me in covering all the happenings during last fall鈥檚 civic election in Outlook, it鈥檚 that people showed such a vested and public interest in how they want their community to be run over the next few years, the likes of which I haven鈥檛 seen before. I鈥檇 be buying groceries or covering some event, and on more than one occasion I had people come up to me and talk to me about the election and what direction they hoped Outlook would be heading in.
The constant topic that came up in these brief chats? Local businesses; questions such as what tax breaks might be available, how do we draw more businesses to the area, how does Outlook stay competitive with places such as Saskatoon, those sort of things.
I think it just comes down to one simple thing, and it鈥檚 not hard to figure out what it is: support your local businesses.
I would imagine if someone posed a public opinion poll on this topic, it might split the vote down the middle, which doesn鈥檛 surprise me. This town鈥檚 close proximity to Saskatoon by way of Highway 219 is great, but that really depends on what side of the equation you鈥檙e on. If you鈥檙e someone with a young family who wants to cruise up there to spend the day doing some shopping, maybe see a movie, and then getting some dinner, it鈥檚 fantastic and more than convenient. But if you鈥檙e a local business owner - a grocery store owner, theater manager, or a restaurant owner - your views on the city 小蓝视频 so close are likely much different.
In the last couple of weeks, Outlook lost a restaurant as the Lucky Dragon closed up shop and the owners reportedly moved to Ontario. For some time before the move, they were offering a coupon deal in the pages of this newspaper, and the only thing we can be led to believe is it was because business was down. That鈥檚 a shame. Farewell, awesome spring rolls and shrimp low mein.
My own mother closed up shop on her business in Conquest recently, Ma鈥檚 Tavern. There were several factors in that decision; the building is very old, and she sees the new liquor privatization laws as unappealing to small town bar owners, but the other factor was that business had been on a steady decline. It鈥檚 great to hear kudos on a job well done or a 鈥楽orry to hear you鈥檙e closing鈥�, but sometimes it leads to business owners asking, 鈥榃ell, where the heck were you?鈥�
It鈥檚 a balancing act between staying loyal to the businesses in your own backyard versus the deals and sale prices that city box stores can afford to offer; one that we all undertake from time to time. No blame game here. Hell, I can鈥檛 tell you the number of times I鈥檝e even run into the Walmart in the Stonebridge area to grab something and come across two or three people from town who were loading up on groceries. Hey, I get it; those rollback prices can鈥檛 be ignored sometimes, and I mean that Walmart is RIGHT THERE on the edge of the city, so it鈥檚 like you鈥檙e in and out within minutes.
But those city trips to buy groceries baffle some people. I used to have conversations with town officials about the 鈥榣ure of the city鈥�. One view was that if people were looking to save money, particularly at a time when fuel costs were unpredictable and hazardous to your wallet, then they were failing because it鈥檚 an hour to the city and an hour back. I can see that; for the money you might save at the till in the city store, you鈥檙e burning it right back up while driving to and from the city to begin with.
I look at the downtown business corridor in Outlook and wonder where things will be in a year or two. This one鈥檚 open, that one鈥檚 open, that one鈥檚 closed, that building鈥檚 vacant, so is that building, and so on and so on. I鈥檓 not sure where things go from here, but I do know that if people continue with this perceived attitude of 鈥榃ell, the city is RIGHT THERE, and I鈥檒l buy from that business downtown next time鈥�, then the ripple effect could wind up costing Outlook big-time.
We need to pay more attention to the businesses that call this area home. We need to find a way to foster economic growth.
It鈥檚 time we get more vocal about local.
There, I鈥檝e even provided the slogan. That鈥檒l be a nickel to me every time someone in the Lake Diefenbaker region says it.
For this week, that鈥檚 been the Ruttle Report.
