Nixon's General Store

[Ben Ruset]

If you asked the folks who ran Nixons I doubt they'd consider their store being "killed." It's likely that they needed Internet at the store for some reason or another and just decided to open it up for others to use.

What's killed the local general store? Big grocery stores, big box retailers, good highways, and cheap food with far away expiration dates. Simply put, why would you go to the local general store to buy a pair of boots at full retail price when you can get on a nice, smooth highway and buy the same boots for less money at Walmart?

People vote with their wallet, and they only get nostalgic when the general store that they shunned because it's too expensive or doesn't have enough selection goes out of business.

 

[GermanG]

I dabbled in model trains for a while and that industry has changed as well. Most buyers call various dealers from magazine advertisements, or shop online. They find the lowest price, often without shipping charges. The small brick and mortar hobby shops that the Lionel trains of our youth came from can’t compete due to their overhead and are slowly disappearing. But when the inevitable service or repairs are needed it is lamented that there is no local shop to bring the equipment to. The light bulb never seems to go on for those folks. If I can find a locally owned shop, be it fishing tackle, hardware or a deli, that’s where I spend my money. While I’m by no means wealthy, it doesn’t cost as much more as some claim, and it gives me a greater feeling of satisfaction keeping my money in the community.

 

[46er]

Wow. They have had a very visible ATM for sometime, have accepted credit cards even longer and folks complain about something they can't even see. Next thing you know they'll be adding a google cookie to your wifi connected device and monitor your coming and going. But none of it will change why I stop there, the owners, or their food.

 

[dogg57]

Wow. They have had a very visible ATM for sometime, have accepted credit cards even longer and folks complain about something they can't even see. Next thing you know they'll be adding a google cookie to your wifi connected device and monitor your coming and going. But none of it will change why I stop there, the owners, or their food.

Well said!

 

[noboat]

I kinda suspect that noboat was being sarcastic....

No

 

[Boyd]

No onNixons becoming Starbucks. Something I think Is in your coffee Boyd

I don't even drink coffee! And I think (just maybe) *I* was being sarcastic....

 

[Boyd]

The small brick and mortar hobby shops that the Lionel trains of our youth came from can’t compete due to their overhead and are slowly disappearing

There used to be a small hobby shop in Richland Village that had a sign for model trains. I never went in there and haven't noticed if it is still there, maybe Mark can provide some more info. And Richland also has a pretty big general store that sells a variety of things.

The reasons why the old general store has faded should be pretty obvious, as are the reasons why stores take credit cards and install wifi. I just thought it might be fun to discuss it a little, and see how the changes reflect larger trends in our society. But Jeff and I seem to have touched a nerve. Interesting.

German - good for you! I will also pay more and use a local business. There's a little hardware store in Mays Landing that I frequently use, and I will buy what groceries I can at Gregorio's. I'll admit, I go to WalMart a couple times a year. But I find the whole experience so unpleasant that I avoid it as much as possible. I am getting to be the same way with Home Depot and Lowes, unless I need a number of things that I can't get in one place otherwise.

But the world has changed, and it's pretty hard not to shop at big chain stores today. I do it too, for all the same reasons as everyone else.

 

[dogg57]

I don't even drink coffee! And I think (just maybe) *I* was being sarcastic....

Your just a Funny Guy

 

[Pine Baron]

A while back, I saw that half of "Atco Sports" had been partitioned off. After talking with the owners, they told me they were trying to rent that half of the store. The sold off all the inventory that was not hunting/fishing related. They told that me that they just couldn't compete with the larger department stores down the road.

That seems to be the trend. Wonder how long will it be before all these little "mom & pop" shops are empty and have For Sale signs on them?

John-

 

[dogg57]

A while back, I saw that half of "Atco Sports" had been partitioned off. After talking with the owners, they told me they were trying to rent that half of the store. The sold off all the inventory that was not hunting/fishing related. They told that me that they just couldn't compete with the larger department stores down the road.

That seems to be the trend. Wonder how long will it be before all these little "mom & pop" shops are empty and have For Sale signs on them?

John-

In this area of the Country not long sadly. We are starting to see the so called squeeze on the Pine Barrens Themselves and there surrounding towns.This is one change I am not happy to see

 

[Gibby]

A bit off topic, but the closing of the mom and pop stores is just a cycle. The owners will get older and eventually the store will close, but again in due time, another store will open once more in the same location. Chambersburg, where I live, had a family run small grocery store almost on every block in the late seventies and early eighties. The owners lived above the store and they had simple names such as Jim and Mary's or Fulton's Meat Market. The quality and freshness can't be beat by today's big names. Most, if not all, were closed. Now, twenty plus years later, many are reopening as grocery stores again. Homeowners don't want to drive through the traffic and waste an hour just for a few simple items when they can walk to the corner store. The service and interaction is above what you can get at the big chain stores, plus you can find out what is happening in the neighborhood. It is some what different, yet the same as to what is happening in other areas of the state.

 

[Teegate]

Well, we stopped in at Nixon't today and were able to connect right into the wifi. Jessica's iPod Touch browser connected right into the news and she learned about the offer to Prince Harry from the video company

 

[ecampbell]

Nixons survives because they offer something the large stores don't, very good specialty sandwiches, plus it's a cool old time store.

 

[kayak karl]

from Nehi to WiFi. life's moving too fast

 

[piker56]

I've had this same type of conversation with my brother. High tech is changing so fast that it's hard to keep up. Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like before the "modern age", but then I remind myself that If I had lived back then, I would have died at the ripe old age of 12 from a childhood illness that I contracted.

 

[kayak karl]

i will be telling my grandson, who is one now 'i am older then the internet' that should shock him.
not to mention cell phones, cable, CD's, DVD's, microwave, etc. even color TV ;-/

 

[Boyd]

Visiting my granddaughter before she was one year old, I let her have my iPhone to look at a picture and she started flipping though the whole album, zooming in and out by pinching and squeezing. Of course she knew all about this since her Dad also has an iPhone.

I was impressed, but also found it troubling for reasons I can't quite put my finger on...

 

[Pine Baron]

I was impressed, but also found it troubling for reasons I can't quite put my finger on...

I know what you mean, Boyd. I also suffer from "fat-finger syndrome" and can't keep up with the kids!

John-