Big Business Subtracts from Culture in Fort Collins (slideshow)

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href=””>Home Team VS Big Business (slideshow)

Large corporations may be creating a generic environment in Fort

Collins, whereas smaller businesses would create a richer culture,

according to some smaller businesses.

“I definitely think, without a doubt, 100 percent, big

businesses subtract from the culture,” said Linda Brunjes, Manager

of Alley Cat, 120 W. Laurel St., a small coffee shop.

Brunjes said that Alley Cat brought something to the community

that a big chain could not.

“South of Prospect is Any-Town USA. We’re unique. Every

Starbucks in the nation is the same. It’s monotonous,” Brunjes

said.

Finest CDs-Records-Tapes, 1103 W. Elizabeth St., was also

affected by big businesses in the area.

“It definitely doesn’t help. We get a lot of people who come in

here and say, ‘Best Buy sells this for $9.99,’ because they make

all their money off big appliances. We make all our profits off of

records,” said Ashley Roop, a Finest employee.

Roop said if any local alternative to a big business exists, she

would rather shop there.

“Finest brings a sense of community. This place has been here

for 30 years, and I shopped here when I was a kid. Nobody cares if

you’ve shopped at Best Buy for 30 years,” Roop said.

She said that while big businesses are needed in the area to aid

the growth and expansion of Fort Collins, the placement of the

businesses is what the community should focus on.

“I couldn’t believe they approved a Super Wal-Mart that close to

Old Town,” Roop said. “Fort Collins isn’t lacking culture, but we

are not doing as much as we can to preserve and encourage it.”

Brian Bartlett, an employee of Wal-Mart Super Center, 1250 E

Magnolia, said that Wal-Mart takes away from small businesses in

the area.

“Everybody comes here rather than going to family-owned stores,

but yet sometimes they pay more here,” Bartlett said.

The manager of Big City Burrito, 510 S. College Ave., Jimmy

Towne, said that his business was not hurt by places like Qdoba’s

and Chipotle.

“People like to come to a restaurant where they know we made the

food from scratch and the money is going to the people they see

here and not some nameless corporation,” Towne said.

Jesse Thrash, a manager at Qdoba’s, 1104 W. Elizabeth St., said

that he preferred to support small businesses, but chose to work at

Qdoba’s because it was easier to get a job with a chain.

“I prefer small businesses, because they’ve been around for a

long time and their food quality is probably higher,” Thrash

said.