Local Businesses Vs. Franchises

I could not live without some franchise restaurants like Dairy Queen. I do prefer to go to small local restaurants most of the time because the food is so much better and authentic. It is special when people share their food and recipes with the public

 

I am torn between the choices because I could see that franchise outlets, particularly the fastfood, have instant customers since the public already know the taste of the food and the standards of the store. However, the franchise fee costs an arm and a leg that if it doesn't seel so much, you tend to lose your investment. For a local outlet to compete with a franchise, there is no added expense (of franchise fee) but the market build up takes time.

 

There is this restaurant that we actually go to that has the most amazing Sinigang na Ulo Ulo meal for such a cheap price. I know rich people and average owners flock to this place because the said meal is delicious but affordable. One other local restaurant that we love is found near my college. Their Sisig is to die for and students eat there everyday for the affordability and taste. Sorry for the food items as I do not know their translations lol.

 

Wendy's and Arby's are both technically speaking, "local" restaurants to me - they both originated in Ohio - Arby's in particular started in my hometown a few decades ago. Of course they are both quite different these days from what I recall them being back in the 70's. My mom also recalls when Arby's sandwiches were much more home made, and not that processed loaf they sell these days.

As for quality and price of chain restaurants vs. local joints, it really varies depending on the type of restaurant. The chain pizza stores can't even compare to the quality of pizza we can get from our local pizza shops. And even when places like Little Caesar's try to offer $5 pizzas, they taste worse than the cheapest frozen pizza's at your local grocery store - whereas when our local pizza shops offer them for $5 throughout the week, they are super fresh and run circles around the chain stores.

But there are some instances where local joints are getting a bit carried away with their prices too. Many of the local food trucks that have become popular in recent years are also getting ridiculous with their prices, especially for what they're offering. I'm not paying an extra $5 for a side of Tater Tot's to go with my sandwich that I just paid $8 for, for example. One cart in particular was literally doing this, they were just deep frying some frozen Tater Tots from the store in a Fry Daddy, then sprinkling some dry rosemary on them and acting like they were now "gourmet" or something.

 

There is a local Italian restaurant here called Vinnie's that is pretty good and pretty authentic. However to be totally honest...I am not sure I agree with your assessment. Although I agree independent restaurant owners tend to have better food and be more invested in their customers...I have had some really great meals in franchises. They care about retaining their customer base too.

 

I support local businesses whenever I can, and my favorite coffee shop is locally-owned. The problem is, many of the locally-owned shops, etc. around me have rather odd hours. So these days I don’t get to visit as often as I’d like. I’ll opt for a franchise much of the time for the convenience factor, but I try to stay away from the huge, ubiquitous ones and go for more regional ones. I guess I consider it somewhat of a balance.

 

I also prefer local restaurants to fast food because at this point fast food has become so expensive that they already rival those that sell actual dishes, and since their prices are already similar and in some cases fast food is even more expensive, which is why I more often just opt to buy from actual restaurants instead. This way I get to have a home cooked meal and not have to settle for burgers and fries which at this point I'm way too tired of already anyway.