# My city has such a dearth of basic commercial services, it's pathetic. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 19, 2008, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-city-has-such-a-dearth-of-basic-commercial-services-its-pathetic/449861 "2008-05-19T16:31:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-city-has-such-a-dearth-of-basic-commercial-services-its-pathetic/449861/21 "2008-05-20T03:03:31Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] That’s all I got. I live in Chicago. We have pretty much everything here. Although it is a 15 minute car ride to the nearest Taco Bell… [/QUOTE] There is a very strange dearth of Taco Bell’s in Chicago. We’re a city that doesn’t seem to reject crappy fast food, but Taco Bell is really under represented (thankfully one of the few is about a mile form my place). Even worse is the total lack of Papa John’s here. Not a single one, and they advertise on TV all the damn time! I know we’re the home of great pizza, but every once in a while I want some crappy pizza with garlic sauce. Can I trade in a couple Subway’s, Quiznos and Potbelly’s for a Bell and PJs please? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-city-has-such-a-dearth-of-basic-commercial-services-its-pathetic/449861/22 "2008-05-20T11:57:29Z")
There’s a Taco Bell at 1120 Somerset Street: > [@](#): > > Taco Bell > (732) 435-1300 See reviews on Local 1120 Somerset St > New Brunswick, NJ Map and one on Ryders Lane in Milltown (you could get bthere if you had a bike – I know, I used to ride from South River to New Brunswick all the time): > [@](#): > > Taco Bell > (732) 418-1212 See reviews on Local 200 Ryders Ln > Milltown, NJ Map There’s a Wendy’s near Buccleuch Park: > [@](#): > > Wendy’s > Address: 126 College Ave, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 > Phone: (732) 545-5545 and a shoe repair shop right on George St: > [@](#): > > Brunswick Shoemaker > Address: 363 George St, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 > Phone: (732) 828-1126 ---
**Author:** ![Wheeljack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@Wheeljack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheeljack)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-city-has-such-a-dearth-of-basic-commercial-services-its-pathetic/449861/23 "2008-05-20T12:07:14Z")
Shoe repair? What the hell is shoe repair? Don’t shoes cost like 20, 30 bucks tops? ---
**Author:** ![BlueKangaroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@BlueKangaroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueKangaroo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-city-has-such-a-dearth-of-basic-commercial-services-its-pathetic/449861/24 "2008-05-20T12:20:14Z")
[QUOTE=wheresgeorge04] Do you live in San Francisco? Because, as much as I love and appreciate the good, authentic Mexican cuisine here, sometimes I want fucking Taco Bell, And it isn’t here, or at least, not that I’ve found (haven’t looked THAT hard) Joe [/QUOTE] No, I live in the aforementioned Chicago. Though I originally hail from New Mexico, where there are plenty of Taco Bells, so I know what you mean by, “Want good, authentic Mexican food tonight” vs “Want Taco Bell style universal food product tonight”. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-city-has-such-a-dearth-of-basic-commercial-services-its-pathetic/449861/25 "2008-05-20T12:59:35Z")
[QUOTE=Wheeljack] Shoe repair? What the hell is shoe repair? Don’t shoes cost like 20, 30 bucks tops? [/QUOTE] Depends. I have shoes that cost that much, and shoes that cost quite a bit more. I certainly wouldn’t bring my Converse All-Stars in to be repaired, but I have shoes like my good leather flats and my cowboy boots repaired when they need it. It’s not just about the cost of getting a new pair. Anyway, I’m sure the OP was exaggerating a little for effect. I doubt he really believed that there were no dry cleaners at all in New Brunswick. But his point still stands, and it’s a pretty interesting phenomenon. Thanks so much to **CalMeacham** for the history lesson. I lived in Highland Park from 1994-1996 and attended Rutgers until 1998, so I know the city pretty well. I always considered New Brunswick a pretty bad place to live–not because it was dangerous or unpleasant–just the opposite! I spent a ton of time there, and I loved it. But I wouldn’t have wanted to live there for a lot of the reasons the OP mentions. Living in Highland Park, I was right withing walking distance of New Brunswick, but I was also right within walking distance of all the things I needed on a day-to-day basis. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-city-has-such-a-dearth-of-basic-commercial-services-its-pathetic/449861/26 "2008-05-20T13:05:20Z")
Well, we don’t have a Target (or anything that could be considered a more-or-less direct competitor to Wally World). We don’t have a Whole Food’s, Trader Joe’s or Aldi. Oh, we don’t have a warehouse store, either. Hubby and I belong to Costco, but we have to drive a good hour to get to one. We have to drive to the next town west of here to get to Wal-Mart, in fact, but I still think of the Wal-Mart as “ours” because it’s less than a ten-minute drive. Oh, and we only have one supermarket (well, two, if you count the one in the next town, but it’s the same chain). We have some of those “ghetto markets” the OP talks about (More For Less and Save A Lot), but full-service supermarkets, it’s Martin’s or nothing. Fortunately for me, I like Martin’s. I do wish we had a TJ’s, though. ---
**Author:** ![iwakura43](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de0a6/32.png) [@iwakura43](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iwakura43)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-city-has-such-a-dearth-of-basic-commercial-services-its-pathetic/449861/27 "2008-05-20T13:49:55Z")
Re: New Brunswick shoemaker, that place on George St. is in the yellow pages but is closed. Gotta find someone to fix these shoes before my new job starts next week. The insoles have little tags permanently(?) attached to them, which rub on my feet. Can’t fathom why they’re there. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-city-has-such-a-dearth-of-basic-commercial-services-its-pathetic/449861/28 "2008-05-20T14:05:09Z")
[QUOTE=BlueKangaroo] I have not seen a single Taco Bell the entire six months I’ve been here. And only one Wendy’s. [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Omniscient] There is a very strange dearth of Taco Bell’s in Chicago. [/QUOTE] Oh, good, I thought I was just going crazy. “Surely there \*have \*to be local Taco Bells!” I thought, “Little 20 house “towns” in Indiana have Taco Bells, how can there not be Taco Bells in _Chicago_?” Luckily, I’m close enough to Skokie (oh dear, I see an unintentional word play coming ahead - do you see it coming?) that I can run for the border (sorry!) when the craving for a chalupa hits.(what the hell IS a chalupa, anyway? Tasty, that’s all I know.) Likewise, we utilize Evanston’s Papa John’s when the desire for garlic butter gets too great to resist. They won’t deliver here, but we’re so hooked, we’ll go pick it up. I tried once to get them to deliver to the intersection of Howard and Ridge (which on one corner is Evanston and the other Chicago) so I could walk there and meet them, but they wouldn’t do it! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-city-has-such-a-dearth-of-basic-commercial-services-its-pathetic/449861/29 "2008-05-20T14:05:10Z")
Here’s what Yahoo Yellow Pages generates when you type in "Shoe Repair: > [@](#): > > Brunswick Shoemaker > (732) 828-1126 See reviews on Local 363 George St > New Brunswick, NJ Map 0.7 > > North Brunswick Cobbler Shop > (732) 545-1141 See reviews on Local 918 Livingston Ave > North Brunswick, NJ Map 1.4 > > G & S Custom Molded Shoes > (732) 339-1926 See reviews on Local 50 Woodbridge Ave > Highland Park, NJ Map 1.9 > > Fama’s Shoes > (732) 828-1153 See reviews on Local 97 S Main St > Milltown, NJ Map 2.7 > > Country Cobbler > (732) 297-0991 See reviews on Local 3035 State Route 27 > Franklin Park, NJ Map 5.5 > > Park’s Dry Cleaners & Shoe > (732) 549-5082 See reviews on Local 287 Main St > Metuchen, NJ Map 6.0 > > Vaticano Shoe Repair > (732) 635-2002 See reviews on Local 7 1/2 Pennsylvania Ave > Metuchen, NJ Map 6.1 > > Access Multiservice Express > (908) 756-2222 See reviews on Local 2317 Plainfield Ave > South Plainfield, NJ Map 7.2 > > Ace Instant Shoe Repair > (732) 906-0079 See reviews on Local 9 Lincoln Hwy > Edison, NJ Map 7.3 > > R & R Shoe Repair > (732) 679-2654 See reviews on Local 2641 County Road 516 > Old Bridge, NJ Map 8.9 > > Ace Shoe Repair > (732) 727-6363 See reviews on Local 121 N Broadway > South Amboy, NJ Map 9.0 > > Cherensky’s Correct Shoe > (732) 826-5124 See reviews on Local > Perth Amboy, NJ Map 9.5 > > Collantes Shoe Repair > (732) 442-9469 See reviews on Local 196 New Brunswick Ave > Perth Amboy, NJ Map 9.7 > > Distefano’s Quality Foot Wear > (908) 359-7463 See reviews on Local 381 Triangle Rd > Hillsborough, NJ Map 9.8 > > P N Vaticano & Son Inc > (732) 750-8833 See reviews on Local 118 Main St > Woodbridge, NJ Map 10.1 > > Palace Shoe Repair > (908) 541-1244 See reviews on Local 56 W Somerset St > Raritan, NJ Map 11.2 > > Rocco Express Shoe Repairing > (732) 499-0404 See reviews on Local 148 State Highway 27 > Rahway, NJ Map 11.3 > > Park Ave Shoe Repair Shop > (908) 322-3954 See reviews on Local 509 Park Ave > Scotch Plains, NJ Map 11.7 > > Luigi’s Shoe Apparel & Repair > (609) 924-0771 See reviews on Local 1325 US Highway 206 > Skillman, NJ Map 11.8 So it looks as if there might be places in North Brunswick or Highland Park close by. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-city-has-such-a-dearth-of-basic-commercial-services-its-pathetic/449861/30 "2008-05-20T14:18:40Z")
The city I live in, with a population of 16,000 people, has exactly two fast food franchises - a Dunkin’ Donuts and a Subway. We do not have a McDonalds, Burger King, Wendys, KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, Arbys, A&W, Jack in the Box, Dominos, White Castle, Dairy Queen, Sonic, Papa John’s, Long John Silver’s, Chick-fil-A, or Carl’s Jr. I know some people would not consider this more of a blessing than a dearth but I have found it unusual that for some reason nobody wants to start up any franchises here. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-city-has-such-a-dearth-of-basic-commercial-services-its-pathetic/449861/31 "2008-05-20T14:40:23Z")
[QUOTE=olivesmarch4th] I am moving to New Brunswick in two months! I will be there several years. How wonderful to hear from a native! I was meaning to ask, do they even have, like, a Hillers, or Whole Foods, or some kind of farmer’s market equivalent? If I have to go to WalMart or some kind of big-brand supermarket I’m going to have to slit my wrists. :mad: [/QUOTE] You’ll do fine. Though you won’t find those things in the center of town, you can drive a bit out of town (10-20min) and find a Whole Foods easily. In addition, one of the best things about NJ is that you can find _anything_ within not so far a drive. For example, when I needed my special felt-fur Indiana Jones fedora, I was able to hop over to Philly to “Hats in the Belfry” and try several on before buying. Good luck in NJ! – minor7flat5, Ann Arbor Pioneer High alumni who moved to Jersey 20 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-city-has-such-a-dearth-of-basic-commercial-services-its-pathetic/449861/32 "2008-05-20T17:07:06Z")
Here in Oklahoma City we lack a Costco, or for that matter any warehouse store except for some Sam’s Clubs that have considerably less selection than in other regions. The supermarket situation is particularly pitiful, though. In the entire metropolitan area, encompassing some 6400 square miles and 1.23 million people, there are approximately a dozen each of the following supermarkets: Albertsons, Buy 4 Less, and Homeland. All that I have been in are run-down and spectacularly out of date (remember those turntable things at the checkout instead of the belt things?), not to mention having bad prices and poor selection. The Albertsons have been bought out by a local company and seem to be going downhill even faster than before. There are also about 5 Crest supermarkets, which are marginally better, but still not up to the standards of any real city, and are more expensive to boot. The rare Super Target and Super Walmart stores are better in every way. The closest Whole Foods, Trader Joes, etc. are in Dallas. As for somewhat more than basic services- The only sporting goods stores are Academy, which is a sort of pale imitation of Dick’s. There is no camping/hiking store similar to REI. There are two independent music stores and one independent book store. There is no Fry’s Electroincs, just the vastly inferior Best Buy and Circuit City. The restaurant situation is so absurdly bad as to require it’s own lengthy pitting. None of this would be a problem if there were other cities nearby, but Dallas is a 3 hour drive, close enough for the weekend, but not an after-work trip for groceries. Also, mobile phone reception sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-city-has-such-a-dearth-of-basic-commercial-services-its-pathetic/449861/33 "2008-05-20T23:09:58Z")
I’ve got everything I need in my area. Don’t have all of the snootier food chains of larger cities but I’ll trade that against the traffic. Would like to have a Cosco though. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-city-has-such-a-dearth-of-basic-commercial-services-its-pathetic/449861/34 "2008-05-20T23:17:25Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] Fried pork chop sandwiches? (It’s an Indiana specialty I crave sometimes.) [/QUOTE] Try looking for tenderloin sandwiches instead. That’s what they’re called. But you probably won’t find them in Chicago anyway 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-city-has-such-a-dearth-of-basic-commercial-services-its-pathetic/449861/35 "2008-05-20T23:24:01Z")
[The closest town](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clermont,_Florida) to me only has about 22,000, but it’s growing. We have a Target, several pharmacies, UPS stores, a Belk, an Outback, a Wal-Mart, and soon to get an Olive Garden and a Michael’s. We also have several car dealerships. However, no movie theatre yet. I continually to wait patiently. I read somewhere that if your area gets a Starbucks, that’s a place that’s poised for growth. Starbucks does extensive research before they build their stores, so they know when an area is about to boom. So, if a Starbucks is coming, that’s a good sign you should invest in the area as well. We have two Starbucks. One in Target, and we just got a stand-alone store, by the Office Depot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-city-has-such-a-dearth-of-basic-commercial-services-its-pathetic/449861.md?page=1)