In an interesting article on Mom and Pop shops in New York's Greenwich Village published in the NYTimes magazine today, I learned what kind of business Joie de Vivre is. It's a "lifestyle" business. One merchant interviewed after thirty years in business said, "we're not richer or poorer. we're about the same." Writer's comment - "
and this didn't bother him." I understand that way of thinking. Don't want to get bigger, bigger, bigger. But that's not all the article talks about - it's worth a read - interesting piece that resonated with me - (with a crazy long link - there's probably a better way to do this! Anyway, here it is:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/10/magazine/can-mom-and-pop-shops-survive-extreme-gentrification.html?ref=itstheeconomy
Funny they talk about McNulty's. They may not do mail-order, but their customer service (like yours!) is fantastic. My husband mail-orders from them several times a year, and the coffee comes the following morning, via USPS. It's amazing. A grubby store, yes, but they know how to keep customers.
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