Category: Hometown America

Let’s breathe new life into them

In the golden era of our communities, small mom-and-pop business owners earned incomes on par with their neighbors, fostering unbreakable bonds of trust and friendship. This harmony created a loyal customer base that cherished these establishments, passing them down through generations as treasured family legacies. Yet today, while a few such gems endure, far too many aspiring entrepreneurs chase millionaire dreams at the expense of the very people they serve—sacrificing community spirit for fleeting profits. It’s time to fight back and reclaim what made our towns thrive: a return to this timeless model in our vibrant town centers, where laughter, conversations, and connections once flourished. Sure, online shopping offers convenience, but it’s cold and impersonal—a mere transaction. In contrast, stepping into a genuine downtown mom-and-pop shop transforms shopping into a joyful event, shared with friends and family, creating memories that last a lifetime. Imagine the revival: Let’s ditch the sterile highways, exits, and bypasses, and rediscover the magic of shopping locally in our own beautiful town centers. And for those forgotten hubs that have faded into neglect, we must rally to rebuild them—empowering passionate young entrepreneurs to breathe new life into them, just as visionary founders did in the past. Your choices matter; join the movement today and watch your community soar!

If you want to check out some North and South Carolina town centers, visit my YouTube channel.

And the best way to see if I have been to your town is to type the town name, state, and Timothy French into a YouTube search box.

Timothy French Youtube Channel

Life in a chain town

Private equity firms are destroying our town centers. And many of their businesses sit just outside of them in what I like to call “chain towns.”

You all know what they look like because they all look the same. One location looks like the other, and they have no heart or soul.

We must push back against them and make our town centers relevant again, filling each with independently owned, generational businesses. For if we fail to do so, we can kiss our towns goodbye and say hello to life in a CHAIN TOWN.

How Local Communities Win

Global corporations have now taken control of many industries. Companies like Walmart and the Dollar Stores are gutting the last of the money from our communities in America. At the same time, companies like Cargill and JBS take every advantage that they can from smaller companies.

Local based businesses definitely care more about the people, the environment, and the economy of the towns they live in that the massive companies named above.

It’s time to start changing the current atmosphere by building businesses that create wealth for families and the communities we live in. This is the story of a man who is doing just that.

I Love A Good Mom & Pop Business

The Appalachian Channel has another mom and pop video out this week. It’s an historic market in East Tennessee: A local gathering place since 1941, offering delicious food and a sense of community. For 29 years Hanna White has grown up in the B & B market and is now the owner of the restaurant. So have a look at a great Mom & Pop restaurants in Campbell County, Tennessee.

The Rooster Crows

I visited the Horne Creek Living Historical Farm in Pinnacle, NC, the other day. And I will have to admit seeing a fully self-sustaining farm needing no outside help to function made me homesick for the old ways.

Yes, the work would be challenging, but the freedom and security would make it all worthwhile should today’s modern grid break down.

Some might find a rooster’s crow annoying, but to me, It sounds awesome.