Guest column: Keep corporations out of your mouth
The drive-thru line stretched on for more than 12 hours the day In-N-Out Burger opened its newest location in Logan on Aug. 17.
The high number of customers was no surprise. This happens every time a religiously followed fast food chain opens a new store in Utah. It’s just capitalism being capitalism. Supply. Demand. Then more demand, and more demand.
Each of those eager first-day customers, however, delivered a message when they shelled over their hard-earned dollars to a smiling worker in a white apron. In their hurry to get their fill, many passed other locations that would have happily served them a hamburger, likely one with locally sourced ingredients and quality that goes beyond Thousand Island sauce-splattered fries. They whizzed past local burger shops with local owners who share a stake in the community that extends beyond concern for their bottom line.
Throughout the day, seasoned In-N-Out customers and curious first-timers alike showed local business owners they were going to choose a corporate entity over their shops.
Not everyone has the vast choices we’re offered here in Cache Valley, and even here few local establishments keep their doors open later than 8 or 9 p.m. If you want to grab a burger between midnight and 1 a.m., feel free to join the late-night crowds at In-N-Out. But during the hours when people regularly consume food, valley residents’ choices stretch far beyond Double-doubles and neapolitan shakes. Before supporting global corporations with our locally-circulated money, we should at least think about the other options — the local options.
Though I have not worked at the local newspaper for long, my time at The Herald Journal has led me to several unexpected and intriguing discoveries. Cache County’s craze for fast food hovers near the top of the list. Since In-N-Out announced its plans to come to Logan, social media interactions on articles about the chain have far exceeded the norm for content about local government decisions, heinous crimes, and pressing local issues.
I’m not the only one who’s taken note of the fast food fascination.
Stephanie Miller, the owner of Center Street Grill, said she has also taken note of the buzz fast food seems to generate in the area. Though she said the impact doesn’t destroy her business’ fiscal standing, grand openings and chain competition do affect the burger joint.
More noteworthy, however, are the high standards Miller’s food must meet before she serves it to the community.
The meals themselves are testaments to Miller’s commitment to the community. She works hard to locally source ingredients, and she doesn’t allow anything beneath her high standards to be served.
Though she’s been told she could make more money by buying cheaper ingredients, she stands firmly against doing so.
“I would not be happy,” Miller said. “I could not lay my head down at night knowing I’m selling subpar food.”
Another aspect of their consumerism valley residents should more fully consider is how local businesses treat their employees compared to some of the actions franchises take.
Local business owners like Miller live in the community. She cannot make questionable decisions and then hide behind a chain of corporate links when community members question why. She must be accountable.
Corporate restaurants do not share that burden. Without it, they can make decisions without ever needing to answer for the consequences.
Such was the case when the Logan Sizzler was permanently closed. It wasn’t until after business hours on Sep. 11 when the restaurants’ employees were told it had been the last day the restaurant would be in operation.
As detailed in an article written by The Herald Journal’s Managing Editor Charles McCollum, 45 employees were suddenly out of a job. Though the restaurant’s parent company Sizzling Platter said it could find any of the former restaurant’s workers a job if they so desired, only one of the restaurants owned by the corporation is in the valley. After being fired with virtually no notice, employees likely would have needed to move had they all taken the company up on their offer.
Our money talks, and where we choose to spend it says things about our community.
The next time you go out in pursuit of lunch, you will be faced with a choice. You can choose to stop by some fast-food venue, quickly recite your preferred order, and enjoy what you get.
Or you can go somewhere local. If you venture out of old habits and into the second option, more of your money will spill back into the community. You will be served by employees who personally know who they are working for. Based on my experience, the food will melt any doubts you had about your decision. It may just be lunch, but it can mean a whole lot more.
Brock Marchant is a senior at Utah State University majoring in print journalism. He also works as a reporter for The Herald Journal, primarily covering Cache County Government and other public affairs topics.
— brockmarchant@gmail.com