In his New York Times opinion piece, bestselling author David Sax explores the indelible mark that brick-and-mortar businesses continue to leave on consumers—even in the digital age—and why it hurts so much when they close their doors.
“Why do we shed tears over businesses that shut their doors, when we know that the nature of businesses is ephemeral?” wonders David Sax, the bestselling author of The Revenge of the Analog and Save the Deli. In the latter book, Sax investigated the sweeping closures of Jewish deli’s around the nation, documenting the visceral reactions of those who had lost their favorite establishments: “It was as though Ratner’s on the Lower East Side or Grabstein’s in Brooklyn had closed last week, rather than decades ago. The hurt was ongoing.”
Though business serves to fulfill a need, and though we relish the opportunity to live in a country that welcomes entrepreneurship and innovation, there is something to be said for those long-standing institutions that anchor us, offer us a sense of belonging. “Our emotional connection to stores, restaurants and other commercial spots whose loss we mourn has nothing to do with economics. These businesses give us the most pleasure because of their irrational exuberance, their daily chutzpah, which is what’s so humanizing about them.”
You can read the full article here.
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