NateBW: Thoughts on life, the internet, and everything

Careme's Market: 4 stars

My first thought was that, because it was in Lutz, it would be far away. In fact, it wasn't very far north of Bearss Ave, which I take on my way home from work.

Upon entering, Careme's immediately reminded me of the some of the places north of Chicago, except it is bigger. And there is plenty of parking. The background music was nice jazzy vocals. Everything was super clean and new looking.

They have a mix of ready-to-eat prepared food and sandwiches, deli meats and cheeses, packaged food, cold beverages, and a decent wine selection.

The shelves offer a wide variety of items, including coffee, pasta, beans, snacks, etc. There are not a huge array of choices from each category, but it all looked good. I looked around for the tea section, thinking I would take home some interesting blend for my morning tweeting, but I either they don't have tea, or I simply didn't find it.

Careme's Market strives to offer "Quality food and all the fun the law allows". While, I agree on the food, I am pretty sure there are some venues that legally boast more fun. All in all, though, it is a great little place and I wish them all the best.

Shop local!

(This was inspired by a post on the LocalShops1.com blog and another one not long ago by Imjustagoyle.)

I like supporting local, independent business for several different reasons.

First, it is more fun. It is simply a cooler experience to go to the same place and see the same people and get to know them. Local businesses aren’t bogged down with a lot of rules written by middle-management folks a thousand miles away. This means they can take chances and do interesting things. They They can work on local collaborative projects or charities at the drop of a hat, if they want. All this results in a cooler environment and feel for their customers.

Second, I can relate to them. I know that at the end of the day, they count up the register and then on their way home they are thinking about how to make their business better – not how to get out of the next project or assignment – because that is how they will survive. I know how hard they work, because you have to work that hard (and you have to WANT to work that hard) to own a small business.

Third, if they are local it is more likely that Bright Eyes does business with them. It is therefore in my interest to help them out. And even if we not directly deal with them, I know that my friends do and I want my friends and everyone else in the community to be successful as well.

So simply put: local businesses are cooler, harder-working, and more likely to benefit me and my friends in the long run. That is why I shop locally.