Mom and pop stores are too rare

Sometimes I think South College Street must be cursed.

What is it with businesses in that part of town?

Maybe it's not as uncommon as it seems to me. Maybe the come and go of businesses between the south end of campus and the interstate is just natural turnover, and it happens similarly no matter where you are.

But I've only lived in Auburn for three and a half years, and it's frustrating to see the way some businesses have struggled to survive.

I'm not an economist, so I don't necessarily know the ins and outs of what makes a business succeed or fail.

That's why I was befuddled when Santa Fe closed. The way I saw it, that restaurant was always hopping. It was a great place to get a decent sit-down meal without having to drive out to Tiger Town.

But for whatever reason, it didn't make it. And it doesn't look like University Grill is faring much better.

Santa Fe wasn't the only struggling business in that part of town. The building that now houses The Oaks has been a number of different restaurants. El Dorado used to be Milano's, which used to be Johnny Carino's.

Do people on South College Street just not enjoy eating?

Of course, it's not just restaurants. The car dealerships have also moved.

Sometimes I start feeling a personal responsibility for helping the local places succeed. It's silly, I know. I can't ensure growing profit for any business, but it does make me sad when places like Santa Fe become a thing of the past.

It's the smaller, local places that really need the business.

By buying local, Auburn and Opelika residents can ensure that the Plains doesn't feature only well-known chains, but also the stores that give a place its own unique flavor.

After all, you can find an O'Charley's or Olive Garden almost anywhere. Mrs. Story's Dairy Bar and Jim Bob's Chicken Fingers are a bit more rare.

Without these local businesses Auburn and Opelika would become cookie cutter cities with little to distinguish them from any other Smalltown, U.S.A.