We live in a small town on the ocean and five of the charming little shops have gone out of business due to the coronavirus and this town obeyed the rules for the most part. So sad. As for charm, you can't beat it here except for one horrific building put right on the center of the main street..CVS in the gaudy colors. UGH.

A few years ago, I met a friend from work for dinner on "Main Street" near her home. Main Street turned out to be one of those giant shopping complexes but with side walks with trees, popular stores, chain restaurants, a big Barnes and Noble. I didn't get it I didn't like it. America destroyed so many "main streets" and now we are trying to rebuild like this? It was devoid of any charm. I found it awful that they called it "Main Street."

The world has changed. Even in less populous areas, while stretches of "Main Street" with small time retailers and food places offering (admit it) sometimes limited quality and selection, not always such fresh stock, and higher prices may provide more charm, they don't provide more convenience or the type of options people want these days. Large stores, online shopping, and (in some places) the pandemic will push further closings. Many aspects of life in days gone by might have been more charming, more colorful, more reminiscent of times even longer ago but they're going away.

Some of the more upscale and smaller "Main Streets" in my area will remain active with different kinds of stores because they provide a social vibe and entertainment but few people do any real or consistent shopping in such places as they used to. Other than really focused small food stores, most of the others are long gone.

A shopping center I used to love was built before indoor malls, but it was kind of like an indoor mall But with a natural theme. Parking on the perimeter, stores and shops on either side of a walkways with a meandering stream down the middle. Like a cozy village street. Exposed aggregate secondary walkways. Arched bridges over the stream. Plants, gardens, trees. Some independent shops, some small chains, and a Marshall Field. Heaven. By the 80s the stream was filled in, the all the warm and textural aggregate replaced by all concrete, the shops are all chains, it was basically a mall without a roof. I quit going. And of course the anchor department stores are empty.

Susanwv. Send them a copy of what you posted here, anonymously, It should give them food for thought.

Our local Farmers Market (which I am one of the owners and a volunteer) has changed in the past year and a half. Of course some of that is due to the virus and the necessity of having either very restricted or no walk-in sales. It's currently preorder, prepaid, curbside delivery.

The market has lost all it's charm and many vendors who can't go online for sales. But it seemed to be heading in that direction for quite awhile. The people in my town wanted preorder, prepay, curbside delivery. When they do that, they don't walk the street and check out all the vendors and what they have to offer that day. For me, that is the reason to have and come to a farmers market. The people here seem to want strictly convenience. Some of the most popular vendors were the people who provided hot meals to eat there or take home, not the farmers or vendors who provided food to take home and make into meals. The times they are a'changing and I don't think for the better. But I am older. What do I know? I long for the good old days. :)

Preorder, prepay, curbside pickup and delivery is not about convenience it is about personal safety. I find it interesting that people who decry the older methods do not understand all of those things used to be the norm before about the 1950s. Some merchants would have a group of people that they extended credit to, think credit cards.

Maifleur, of course that is what it is now. I understand that. And it's not at all about how things are paid for. It is a longing for only two years ago when people could come, enjoy music, kids could play, you could talk to the farmers that produce the food you eat. Right now, and I pray it is a temporary situation, it's been reduced to no more than buying at the grocery store. Of course people need to stay safe. The vendors want and need to stay safe. I'm just saying that I'm sorry it's been reduced to this.

While some think it is only what it is now do not expect it to change for a long time if ever. Better to do some brain storming on how the vendors can market their products. The farmers could do what they are doing here and join together and form CSAs if they are not already doing so. The small plant nursery I have been using is the drop off point for a group of farmers that have done just that. Not only do they deliver to the nursery they deliver to several businesses which allow them to set up a small farm market in their parking lot. Most have one person either from the business or living in the area who acts like the manager to distribute the food and clear any remaining stuff either by reduced costs or donations. The one I go to has purchased coolers to store the extra stuff that is brought for people who wish to select their own.

The market area could be the pickup point which would allow those who must mingle their chance.

We already do all that. I just happen to like the way things were. When we can be outside, walk-ups are permitted. Things are so uncertain right now that we don't know if we can go back to being outside with walk-ups again this year. And even if we do, we don't have nearly the amount of vendors we had only two years ago. It may become unfeasible to continue. It takes money to provide the market each week. We are starting our 5th year under our ownership. There are a lot of factors and a lot of work that come into play to provide the market each week. I had no idea of just how much when I signed on. Every market is different. There is a farmers market at various locations at least 6 days a week. There's only so much produce to spread around and it costs a vendor to participate in any/all markets. Like I said, there is a lot to providing fresh food for the community each week.

Murraysmom - for the last 23 yrs I have been participating at a farmer's market as a vendor that is located on Shaker Square near Cleveland which is about an hour away from where I live. The market has been restructured with vendors spaced 10 to 15 feet apart, a limited amount of shoppers are let into the market at one time, masks are required and there is early shopping for seniors or others with health problems for the first hour at the market. They do have preordering for pick up now, but still let customers wander around to look at all of the products. Of course it isn't the same since the pandemic but they are trying to keep it as farmer's market-y as possible.

Here is the website for the market, if you ever wanted to talk to anyone about how best to operate your market the market manager's name is Donita Anderson who is super easy to talk with and would probably be more than happy to give you some good ideas.

http://www.northunionfarmersmarket.org/

Even the board of the small local origin green grocery chain I shopped at heavily during the last years at my previous location eventually voted to have a big corporate grocery operation take over their management.

Thanks, Jeb. We do all that, as do the other markets in our city. We can only have walk-ins when we are outside. We are a year round market, and we used to be able to be inside the Fellowship Hall of the church November through April, but it now has the local preschool and is too small for more than about 8-10 vendors in a pinch. That is why we are doing preorder prepaid curbside delivery for the cold winter months. Come April we will move back out into the parking lot and be able to allow vendors to set up and people to come. Last year beginning in March, we had to set up barricades, caution tape in order to create an "enclosed" market in the parking lot. It was a lot of physical work that I mostly did by myself and I am going to be 70 this year. It was difficult to get people to respect the boundaries, wear masks and use hand sanitizer, all of which we provided at our own expense.

I guess I'm trying just to say that I miss the "ambience" of the way the market used to be - a place for friends to gather and visit, listen to live music and enjoy the events we provided. That has all ended now as we don't want people to congregate and have to keep the vendors well spaced out and shoppers keeping their distance.