Boston Globe 8-6-06
Thinking outside the big-box store
Businesses hope to fend off large chain franchises
Roslindale's flourishing business owners should think twice before toasting its renaissance, says the founder of the new group Local First Roslindale: Chain stores loom on the horizon.
``We have such a wonderful place here, with all of these unique little stores and restaurants and bakeries that we want to preserve," says lawyer Lisa Modecker.
``You see, when great little neighborhoods start getting overrun by chains, they lose their flavor. Roslindale businesses support the community, and we want people to know that by purchasing local goods, you're giving back to them, and more money stays in the community."
Modecker said she is ``horrified" every time she visits her small hometown of Broomfield, Colo .
``The whole town is gone -- it was replaced by a mall," she said. ``Whenever the mall closes, that's when the town closes."
While a new mall probably won't show up near Roslindale anytime soon, Modecker said local businesses have to band together so they are ready for a Wal-Mart or any other megastore that could come to the area.
Chains are rare in Roslindale -- the only national chain franchise in Roslindale Village is Dunkin' Donuts, though a sub shop chain may lease a vacant restaurant soon. Modecker, president of the Roslindale Board of Trade, said the chamber's board voted unanimously to become a dues-paying member of Local First Roslindale. The alliance, which held its first meeting in June, is recruiting members and planning a campaign that will distribute storefront stickers and brochures highlighting independent businesses.
Eventually, the alliance will recruit entrepreneurs to fill the gaps in Roslindale's market, Modecker said. Janice Williams , director of the city-supported Roslindale Main Streets, said that the neighborhood, though growing, will never be big enough to fill every need with an independent business. Roslindale needs an office supplies store, and the agency has tried to lure a Staples Express, she said.
``For something like office products, it has to be something like Staples, because they have the economic power to offer the products and the pricing," she said. ``We just don't have the demographics of an Allston or Brighton."
Local First isn't just local -- it's affiliated with the national Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, cofounded by Cambridge businessman Laury Hammel in 2001. While the Roslindale organization is Boston's first, Hammel cofounded Local First Cambridge last year. Jamaica Plain will likely start the next Local First here, he said.
The campaign has made a difference in Cambridge, he said, and once a connection is made with shoppers in Roslindale, he thinks business owners will notice a change there, too.
``We need to tell people that when you buy books at a local bookstore in Roslindale, you're voting for that bookstore to stay there," he said. ``People can realize there's a connection, and most people get it right away. They just never understood how important it was." 
