I guess a new Cape shop is better than a vacant storefront, and in this economy, we should probably be cheering for the success of any company. I've got to say, though, that smoking products are not up there on the top of my list of things I'd like to see open up in the shopping center. I can imagine that smokes are not cheap at Graul's, Bella's, and the Shell station, but frankly, I would like to see them cost a bloody fortune - not be even more convenient and cheap for my fellow Capers.
I don't mean to rag on smokers because I know it's an incredibly tough habit to kick. I can't even quit biting my nails, and they aren't jacked up with nicotine. I smoked cigarettes for a year or so during college after a semester abroad in England (where most of my bad habits either began or were amplified). The main thing that kept me from going past the point of no return upon my return to the States was the disapproval of my good friends and future fiance and the expense of it. It was neither socially acceptable nor affordable on my post-college, sandwich-making income.
Both of my parents were smokers from their 1950s teen years through their 1970s young married life. I can remember as a five or six year-old when they were finally successful in their joint attempt to quit, about the time my Dad finished his medical school residency. They excitedly put me on the phone to my grandmother three thousand miles away to tell her that Mommy and Daddy had "kicked the habit". My Dad continued to smoke a pipe for a few years after that, but he eventually gave it up as well.
So I'm familiar with how easy it is to pick up the habit in our invincible youth and how dreadfully hard it is to quit when we wise up and start to get a sense of our mortality. It just makes me sad and a little angry when I see teenagers smoking on the corner behind the high school fondly known as "The Pit". It's so darn bad for them and is going to cost them and us in the years ahead. For the most part, laws protect the rest of us from second-hand smoke in bars, restaurants, and workplaces, but it doesn't protect us from the heartbreak of losing a loved one before their time to lung, mouth, or throat cancer.
That's why I guess I'm a little dismayed at the notion of a smoke shop opening up here in the Cape. The health food store in the shopping center was short lived but I fear a discount cigarette shop will thrive (how ironic is that). Perhaps the business will be more slanted toward fine cigars and pipe tobacco than cigarettes. Still, I would much rather have seen a pet supply store, a bakery, a seafood market, a florist (used to have one of those), a FOURTH beauty/barber shop, a craft shop, a sporting goods store, maybe a bait, tackle and boating supply shop, or dare I even dream it, a bookstore to replace Borders...
There are still several empty storefronts down at the shopping center. If any of you could open your own business down there, what would it be? What are your secret entrepreneurial dreams? What shops would you like to see somebody else open up? What do you find yourselves routinely seeking out beyond the boundaries of the Cape? Let's hope this economy finds a way out of the muck before too very long so that business throughout the Cape shopping center can thrive and grow.
I don't mean to rag on smokers because I know it's an incredibly tough habit to kick. I can't even quit biting my nails, and they aren't jacked up with nicotine. I smoked cigarettes for a year or so during college after a semester abroad in England (where most of my bad habits either began or were amplified). The main thing that kept me from going past the point of no return upon my return to the States was the disapproval of my good friends and future fiance and the expense of it. It was neither socially acceptable nor affordable on my post-college, sandwich-making income.
Both of my parents were smokers from their 1950s teen years through their 1970s young married life. I can remember as a five or six year-old when they were finally successful in their joint attempt to quit, about the time my Dad finished his medical school residency. They excitedly put me on the phone to my grandmother three thousand miles away to tell her that Mommy and Daddy had "kicked the habit". My Dad continued to smoke a pipe for a few years after that, but he eventually gave it up as well.
So I'm familiar with how easy it is to pick up the habit in our invincible youth and how dreadfully hard it is to quit when we wise up and start to get a sense of our mortality. It just makes me sad and a little angry when I see teenagers smoking on the corner behind the high school fondly known as "The Pit". It's so darn bad for them and is going to cost them and us in the years ahead. For the most part, laws protect the rest of us from second-hand smoke in bars, restaurants, and workplaces, but it doesn't protect us from the heartbreak of losing a loved one before their time to lung, mouth, or throat cancer.
That's why I guess I'm a little dismayed at the notion of a smoke shop opening up here in the Cape. The health food store in the shopping center was short lived but I fear a discount cigarette shop will thrive (how ironic is that). Perhaps the business will be more slanted toward fine cigars and pipe tobacco than cigarettes. Still, I would much rather have seen a pet supply store, a bakery, a seafood market, a florist (used to have one of those), a FOURTH beauty/barber shop, a craft shop, a sporting goods store, maybe a bait, tackle and boating supply shop, or dare I even dream it, a bookstore to replace Borders...
There are still several empty storefronts down at the shopping center. If any of you could open your own business down there, what would it be? What are your secret entrepreneurial dreams? What shops would you like to see somebody else open up? What do you find yourselves routinely seeking out beyond the boundaries of the Cape? Let's hope this economy finds a way out of the muck before too very long so that business throughout the Cape shopping center can thrive and grow.
6 comments:
One of the other store owners told me they think its part of a chain of cigar shops. I can't imagine that would do well tucked away in the Cape, but who knows.
I would LOVE to open a book store, our house is practically one already. But since I have none of the finances nor skills, I will just have to dream!
Well put. May get some push-back from the hard core, but this needs saying.
Ex-smoker Papa
I share your dream and your lack of resources, Becky! Actually, I suspect the startup is more within reach than we imagine if we really were determined, but for me, it comes down to risk aversion and lack of the business skills needed to make the venture prosper. It seems like a much easier and less risky prospect to make use of the Internet to start a business these days. Stores like The Cape Exchange make use of a storefront but also have an internet presence to extend their customer base and exposure. It all hinges on a well thought out business model and hard work - and a little luck here and there.
I just heard about this myself Christy. Didn't even notice it until a friend on FB point it out. Yuk! As an ex-smoker myself with a Dad AND brother-in-law who died from esophageal cancer I can say it's a nasty habit that hurts most who venture "there". I hope that it's monitored closely to make sure there are no sales to teens and it doesn't turn into the proverbial "head shop" that many of these places become. Hate to be so negative but.....
I'd like to see a Jewish or Italian Deli ... the chances of that or slim to none. Being originally from NYC I miss a really good NY style deli. Oh, well it a nice dream.
MMMmmm! Louise, that sounds awesome! Hot pastrami on rye might be my favorite sandwich ever! Add in some really good bagels, and THAT would be a nice addition to the Cape!
Post a Comment