avoiding chains

  OneToThirtySix said:

My wife and I shop in chain stores (mostly because the markup is smaller than in independent stores) but we go to independent restaurants more than franchise restaurants.

Yeah, same with my girlfriend and I. National chain restaurants tend to have inferior food anyway. However, for pretty much anything else it is impossible to not shop at a chain store. Even the smaller restaurants have to buy their supplies from somewhere. The big super market chains here are regional (besides Target and Walmart) so I don't feel so bad for shopping there. Any small shop that succeeds here does so because they offer something that the bigger stores don't have or of a quality that the bigger stores don't provide. You pay for it though.

  OneToThirtySix said:

My wife and I shop in chain stores (mostly because the markup is smaller than in independent stores) but we go to independent restaurants more than franchise restaurants.

the best pizza places are independent.