I kind of knew what to respect just from the title at The City Paper (BTW, hooray that they've changed their on-line layout) . . . ("Belmont group wants to keep Subway from tunneling into area" on Nashville City Paper), a report on knee-jerk corporation-bashing from folks tolerantly ensconced in an "eclectic" neighborhood.
Sure, there are Subway restaurants all over the country and every store is almost an exact duplicate of every other and you always know what to expect when you go in there and almost always have the same experience regardless of which Subway you visit. And that last phrase is what makes a franchise, a corporate brand name, of value. I don't always want a predictable, arguably no-frills dining experience, but often I do.
But it is the reflexive (for some folks) head-shaking references to "corporations" ("dang, small-business-owner vs. giant Corporation won't work if they're franchisees!") that caught my eye. After a quick search over at the Sec. of State's site, I was unable to find if "PM Restaurant" is registered in Tennessee as a Corporation or Limited Liability Company, but I was able to see that Robert Bernstein's company, Bongo Java, is registered as an LLC. LLCs and Corporations are "entities" that protect their owners from liability.
I can certainly understand why Myint would want to keep out a competitor, but consumers/customers will be the ultimate deciders ;) about whether a Subway (or any particular restaurant) is "wanted" in that area of town. And you should ask the franchisee of this Subway which party, in this context, has the most "power" and is likely abusing it.
Hello world!
7 years ago
5 comments:
Ned, I agree with you.
I think it's snobbery. Not just food snobbery, but cultural. Gotta keep those uncool, bland suburbanites out of hipsville.
But if EVERY cool neighborhood is chainless, aren't they really joiners?
Very true! Calling 'em joiners'll really get under their skins . . .
I agree with slartibartfast!
My arg is this...unless you can get a local alternative....let Subway in!
“[The potential franchisee] is an immigrant. He’s from India. He’s a mom-and-pop guy,” Tahiri said.
Tahiri believes a Subway would add “more choices and more options” to the neighborhood.
“What is wrong with $4 health sandwiches?” Tahiri said. “That doesn’t break the community. It doesn’t ruin what this street is. It gives it more options.”
Advantage Subway & the Taboulis owner!
And that quote you pulled is interesting--in the argumentation sense, because Tahiri is taking either the "American Dream" angle or the international/eclectic/diversity angle which is purportedly so important to folks in that area.
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