My former employer is on fire!

[steve-in-kville]

https://lebtown.com/2023/02/14/john-f-m ... 5-million/

Apparently this property has nothing to do with the former brick plant.

[Josh]

Old appliance stores here basically close when the owner retires. A guy in church who did appliance repair got to know a few of them and took over phone numbers/customer lists as the old owner didn't want to keep doing service calls.

If you want to start your own business, appliance repair appears to be something that is wide open.

[mike]

Old appliance stores here basically close when the owner retires. A guy in church who did appliance repair got to know a few of them and took over phone numbers/customer lists as the old owner didn't want to keep doing service calls.

If you want to start your own business, appliance repair appears to be something that is wide open.

It sure is. About 6-8 years ago my father in law stopped milking cows and went to Fred's Appliance Academy in Ohio to learn the basics. They have a 1 or 3-week training course depending on what you want to specialize in. He was handy with repair work anyway and has developed a sustainable business and took on my brother in law as a partner in the past year. They are both busy, as are several other small appliance repair businesses right in the same area.

[Judas Maccabeus]

No surprise. I was just by there the other day and it looks like at least 1/3 to 1/2 of the structure is cleaned up. With the competition they had in the area and the expense of rebuilding, it's no surprise that the ROI of a pricey new supermarket just didn't make sense. Plus JFM is planning a new distribution center and they can probably use the cash toward that project.

With Sharp Shopper right across the street, competition must be fierce. Is Sharp Shopper Mennonite owned? I only see them in areas with a large plain population.

Not that I know of.

They seem to pop up in Mennonite areas, Harrisonburg, Lancaster county, Belleville. Coincidence?

[mike]

With Sharp Shopper right across the street, competition must be fierce. Is Sharp Shopper Mennonite owned? I only see them in areas with a large plain population.

Not that I know of.

They seem to pop up in Mennonite areas, Harrisonburg, Lancaster county, Belleville. Coincidence?

I think they probably are popular for shoppers from the plain community. The founders were Dennis and Bonnie Sharp according to their website. That's a cool way to integrate the family name into the business name! https://www.sharpshopper.net/About_Us.html

[cooper]

Is Sharp Shopper Mennonite owned? I only see them in areas with a large plain population.

The Sharps keep a low profile (which I think is admirable), but circumstance evidence suggests they are Mennonite or have Mennonite background. They support Everence and Lancaster Mennonite School.

[RZehr]

I’ve known a Mennonite Sharp. Not really common, about as common as a sharp Mennonite I guess.

[Josh]

Sharp is an Anabaptist last name; the most widespread example would be Marie Sharp hot sauce. Sharp Shopper is one of those things like Good’s potato chips or Walnut Creek Foods that mysteriously appears in every plain area.

[Judas Maccabeus]

Sharp is an Anabaptist last name; the most widespread example would be Marie Sharp hot sauce. Sharp Shopper is one of those things like Good’s potato chips or Walnut Creek Foods that mysteriously appears in every plain area.

I wonder how much “density “ we need in my fair city before we qualify. It is a pain to drive up to Ephrata for shopping. Can’t do without the Wenger’s ham loaf.

[Josh]

Sharp is an Anabaptist last name; the most widespread example would be Marie Sharp hot sauce. Sharp Shopper is one of those things like Good’s potato chips or Walnut Creek Foods that mysteriously appears in every plain area.

I wonder how much “density “ we need in my fair city before we qualify. It is a pain to drive up to Ephrata for shopping. Can’t do without the Wenger’s ham loaf.

Won’t happen, part of what makes the “plain thing” work is having a gigantic labour pool of Amish people to draw from and a general lower cost of doing business including very sympathetic local government that rolls out the red carpet for such businesses.

My wife doesn’t really like “Amish stores” as she calls them. We have 1 local Mennonite store in town and that’s it. Amish country is an hour away. We do have an Amish settlement 20 minutes south with a hardware store and bent and dent store but we never seem to get around to going there.

It does become obvious that the cost of living is lower in these areas simply because of the bargain priced food and goods with good quality and wide selection.