I can empathize a bit with the feeling of loss surrounding changes in ones culture. I grew up in the Hamptons (Southampton to be precise). When I was a kid near

I can empathize a bit with the feeling of loss surrounding changes in ones culture. I grew up in the Hamptons (Southampton to be precise). When I was a kid nearly every store on the two main streets in town (Main Street and Jobs Lane) were owned by local people. The ice cream shop was (and AFAIK still is) owned by the parents of a kid in my first grade class, the clothing boutiques were owned by friends of my family, my favorite restaurant was owned by the father of a kid in my Boy Scout troupe. It was all familiar. It was all local. The town has rules in place limiting the ability of franchises to expand and so we never got a Starbucks on either of those roads though there is one on Highway 27 near a McDonalds and Burger King, rather close to the village. One thing that did change though was the money. There seems to be a lot more of it there now than when I was a kid and as a result there are about half a dozen Ralph Lauren stores between Southampton, Bridgehampton, and East Hampton. There used to be just one. The influx of the larger brands has made Main Street and Jobs lane feel somewhat soulless. The situation in East Hampton is even worse. I'm not really sure what I'm trying to say here. Commerce happens and it has pros and cons. One of the cons is that it jacks up rents and makes it hard for local businesses to stay put. Only the well monied corporations can afford a storefront on Main Street these days and it kind of sucks. I'd be willing to bet that of the local businesses that still exist there all of them own the buildings that they are located in.