To get a Trader Joe's.......

First, let me point out that my blog is green and my name is Patrick--all in anticipation of this day, March 17th. Happy "wear green and drink dyed Budweiser products" Day!

On now to business..... I just read an article on one of GlobeSt.com's blogs about a Florida man who undertook a petition process to bring a Trader Joe's to his town: http://globestcommercialgrove.wordpress.com/2009/03/16/courting-trader-joe%E2%80%99s/

I must say that I like it. This sort of direct guerrilla-style approach is vaguely reminiscent of our Chipotle email campaign (or Chipatopolis, as Catherine and I call it--no clue why), and frankly, the best way for community members to be heard by the large national chains. Many people don't realize it, but this is exactly how our retail committee can work with members of the Laveen Association of HOA's and its members. As ideas bubble up from the masses, we can vote on where to concentrate our efforts and then begin a focused campaign.

As you will see in my yet-to-be posted article about the Local Laveen event in May, I would prefer to focus on small mom n' pop businesses for now. But that doesn't mean we can afford to forget a proactive approach in guiding national retailers who will inevitably end up here as well. Even die-hard independent types, like myself, have a few standby options for groceries, department stores, or whatever the case may be. So we should make sure that they move here before their less desirable counterparts; and a petition campaign is a great way to do it.