Generally Walmart and Home Depot...suck the life out of Main Street...very quickly...
There are many boutique style shops opened as unemployed people try to "make a job" for themselves...but the close up rate on those places is very high... Few survive one year...
Some college towns can support specialty restaurants and shops...but even there...since the depression started...many are finally closing down...
The strip malls are getting very empty...even in the better places...and in the working class areas...these strip malls are in total ruin...
There are always new shops...as people "try their luck" on a dream...but come back in a year...and see if they are still open...!
That is one reason I can't stand this talk that "small business" will save America... Its another one of those "media lies" that people buy into without thinking...
Small business needs a workforce earning a living wage to survive...
