Clealy my point has been missed. I have lived in one of the wealthiest suburbs of SD for almost 15 years and most of the businesses I frequent are owned by national entities. Finding a quality locally owned business is a rarity and when I am lucky enough to find one here, I generally become a loyal customer. Where I used to live and visit often, people rarely step into national companies because the locally owned companies are much better.
Maybe the issue is that you live in a suburb. It seems that suburbia is always dominated by chains and franchises.
However, if you lived in Ocean Beach, for example, they protest any franchise that moves in (e.g. Starbucks), and the area is dominated by family owned shops and businesses, not franchises.
