On 01/17/2016 12:38 AM, Don Y wrote:

You laugh -- but I recall when my in-laws exclaimed over the arrival of a
McDonald's in their home town ("Hey, we must be on the map, now!")

I think the first Walmart was like that for a lot of people here.
Progress for me was when they built a supermarket on the outskirts of
town so I wouldn't have to drive all the way in. I suppose I should have
known it would be followed by Old Navy, Taco Bell, B&N, BestBuy
(formerly Future Shoppe) Lowe's, Petsmart, and so forth.

I've found that "basics" varies in parts of the country. E.g., I can
buy live *chicks* in the hardware store up the corner. And, bales of
hay down the street. But, it will cost me a 30 minute drive to buy
an overpriced capacitor at the *one* place in town that sells them!

Since RatShack closed I don't think I could scare up a capacitor in
town. Chicks, hay, and stock tanks are no problem.

I can *possibly* get a decent Italian meal if I go to one of the 4 stars
that cater to resort visitors. But, damn little else for more modest
tastes!

It hardly qualifies as decent, but there is a Johnny Carino's. There are
a couple of others that I've never been to. I've never seen good stats
but from my experience there are more Hmong in Montana than Italians.

Large metros have both better selections and better prices. I don't
care that
much for the company but even for something like the new Cabelas in
town, my
gut impression from a quick walk through was it wasn't as well stocked
as the
one in Glendale.

Name (chain?) doesn't ring a bell.

It's a large sporting goods chain, or outfitters as they prefer to be
called. Much of their business is direct marketing but the brick and
mortar stores tend to be dramatic. Their customer base probably also
gets LL Bean and REI catalogs and aren't looking for the lowest prices.

Smaller markets give vendors too much control over prices. And, customers
alter their preferences to fit those choices -- so there's no pressure
on the store to change its selection or pricing.

In the '80s I took a contract at Ft. Wayne. There was a legitimate
coffee shortage, with price increases and empty shelves. However one
weekend I drove down to Indianapolis and found the shortage was over.
Apparently the news never made it to Ft. Wayne. The population is about
250,000 but the supermarkets knew a good thing when they saw it.