In every small town in America there is Main Street, the place where
people gather and shop and pass friends on their daily journeys.
In Burbank, there is more than one Main Street. It is a collection of
avenues, boulevards, and streets that come together and form Main Street,
Burbank. Magnolia, Olive, Burbank, and Victory and well as others are
filled with pockets of small business that are Burbank's link to that
fundamental element of Americana.
You may not recognize them as we drive quickly past, as there are no
large signs to draw your attention. But most of the small business in
Burbank reside there and have for years.
Today we are so focused on the new projects, the new malls and the new
big box stores. Some seem to be drooling over the idea of a "new" type of
retailer coming to town and how that will give Burbank a particular
status symbol we need.
New retailing is good for Burbank, but in our eagerness to get
something new, we may be overshadowing, and in some cases, pushing aside
the many existing small businesses that already provide some of the same
services that are due to arrive.
We see numerous mentions of the new projects and community television
continues to spotlight the types of services that are coming with them as
if those services do not exist. With all the time we spend promoting new
development, perhaps we could take a moment to highlight a small business
or two each month that have endured Burbank's changes and are still here
and thriving. Maybe a segment on each of the "Main Streets," one by one,
to show how the city even now has more to offer than some may realize.
As we construct new monuments to ourselves, be they public or private,
let it not be without recognition of those who have served us for
decades. The vision for Burbank needs to include the corner store that
has stood for generations and even the small business that started up a
six months ago. The mom and pops that line the Main Streets of Burbank
should not be seen as obsolete because of their size but rather as a
unique and irreplaceable fabric that anchor the neighborhoods.
These small business entrepreneurs are a special breed. They open
their storefronts with a passion for their trade, usually without a big
budget and almost certainly without help from the city. They thrive on
sweat, hard work and long hours. The logic of which escapes many and is
truly difficult to explain. It is the passion to own their life and the
belief in themselves that makes things work and succeed when all the
