It's a familiar mantra: “Shop local. Support Cheney businesses. Don't take your money to Spokane.”
It's certainly something you hear around the Free Press offices a lot, and at any gathering where there are two or more Chamber of Commerce members present. And the reasoning makes sense: Helping our local merchants bolsters the Cheney economy, which means more area jobs are kept and goods and services will be available for lower prices.
And it's a system that works just fine for most things. You can outfit your entire family, fill your cupboards, get a saddle for your horse (if you have one) and even get your car washed without having to leave Cheney proper. Haircuts, tanning beds, Starbucks coffee and Friday night movie rentals are all easily accessible.
But here at the Free Press, we've come up with a list of 10 things that, unfortunately, you just can't get by hopping in your car and taking a trip up First Street. Here are, in no particular order, the top 10 things Cheney needs to keep residents from taking trips into Spokane to spend those all-important ducats:
1)A place to buy a new car. It may be hard to believe, but it wasn't all that long ago when Cheney had dealerships for Detroit's big two (Ford and Chevrolet) right here in River City. In the early ‘90s, Anderberg Chevrolet and Bonanza Ford (now at Four Lakes) did mighty business that drew new car buyers off of Sprague and Third Street in Spokane and headed to the West Plains. It could – and should – happen again.
2)A lumber yard. To be fair, there is West Plains Building Supply within a short driving distance. But it would be nice to pick up some materials for a new deck on a Saturday morning without leaving town.
3)A discount shoe store. Sure you can find shoes here and there, but a PayLess ShoeSource would sure make a lot of people (especially those with children) pretty happy.
4)A car stereo shop. While a Best Buy or Circuit City would be electronics nirvana, it's hard to believe that – in a college town no less – you can't pick up a pair of Bazookas anywhere close to put a little thump in your trunk. Some of us would like to replace our Pioneer cassette decks this decade, thanks.
5)A nice steakhouse. You'd be hard pressed to find a more cow-loving burg than Cheney. And while steaks can be found at a few of our local eateries – and hamburgers are available about every seven feet – the Free Press would love to see some nice, marbleized ribeye of the Outback or wolf Lodge variety.
6)A record store. Again, what kind of college town doesn't – or, to anyone's recollection ever has had – some type of used record shop? Sure you can order the new White Stripes disc off of Amazon, but where are you going to find that long out-of-print Aretha Franklin platter? Where are university kids going to trade in their Limp Bizkit CDs for some Hot Tuna bootlegs? Not anywhere around here, and that's too bad.
7)A sporting goods store. In a town as sports gaga as this one, it seems almost criminal that you can't buy a pair of cleats or a decent bat anywhere close. Maybe the real reason the Seahawks left town is that they couldn't replace their shoelaces or get new mouth guards without calling the front office back in Seattle.
8)A taxi. Sure, sure, it probably wouldn't boast a cast of characters as diverse as Louie, Latka or Reverend Jim. But wouldn't a little mom-and-pop taxi service make sense? Some university-based cities have taxis that offer $1 rides for inebriated college students; it could provide a decent community service and help out those who are late for work due to dead batteries at the same time.
9)A Denny's. (Or Shari's. Or Waffle House…) Is it really so inconceivable that Cheney could support a 24-hour full-service restaurant? Without playing the obvious college-town card again, aren't those train tracks running through town? Isn't anyone getting up early or coming home late from work? The chicken-fried-steak dinners would sell themselves.
10)A movie theater. Yes, yes, we've had one here before. And yes, it didn't do well enough to survive. But we're convinced the right combination of adult fare (“Sicko”) on weeknights, kids flicks (“Ratatouille”) on weekends and midnight showings (“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”), coupled with low ticket prices (say, $5 for movies that have been out a week or two) would strike box-office gold around these parts.
Anybody looking to start a new business? Just feel free to give us credit for the idea!
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