Keeping it Local!

Flying Colors, as you may know, is in the Oak Grove Plaza shopping center at the corner of Treat Blvd and Oak Grove Rd in Concord.

Oak Grove Plaza, besides having a new Peet's Coffee and a large Trader Joe's, is home to many locally owned small businesses (Flying Colors included!).


So there I am, in the photo getting my hair cut yesterday at Gardelle's Barber Shop. Shahla owns Gardelles--- she took over Jim Gardelle's business when he passed away a few years ago--- and Gardelle's has been a fixture in Oak Grove Plaza for 40 years!

You need a good haircut in a friendly local place--- call Shahla at 925-689-4247 and tell her that FlyCoJoe sent you!

Our property owner and manager here at Oak Grove Plaza,  is a  90+ year-old gentleman named David Zuckerman, a pioneer of the development in Walnut Creek and Concord over the last 60 years. His way of running this shopping center is something I've learned to appreciate in the 22 years Flying Colors has been in operation. David is involved with helping small business owners leasing space from him become successful in their businesses. David is part of the reason Flying Colors has lasted as long as we have... and I thank him for it!

I am a big proponent of supporting locally-owned businesses. Locally owned stores and businesses bring character, personality and quality to a community. No bureaucratic layers of  trying to find the owner or find where "the buck stops"--- because small business owners are usually also small business operators... out there working with our customers, serving your needs, listening to what you want and delivering it, hoping to provide goods and services that will keep you coming back again and again.

Locally owned businesses add more to a community on a dollar basis than do large chain operations. Studies have shown that for every $100 spent at a chain store, only $13 gets recirculated into the local economy. However, for every $100 spent at a locally owned store, $45 gets recirculated--- more than three times the bang for the buck for our local schools, police and firefighters than a chain store provides. It makes local sense (and dollars) to support businesses that also support the area you live in!

Peace--- 'n' Keepin' it local!

FlyCoJoe