#closedstores

A Certain Downtown in the Suburbs

16 March 2018, Photo by Andonis Iliakis

In our capitalistic society, the death of a business carries a certain tragic weight. In truth, the demise of Frank's Trading Post might the saddest, as its entire lifespan is only a fraction even of my time in Kansas City; I remember when it opened, and less than a year later, I see that it is dead and gone. And how much did it cost Frank (and how many other comrades-in-arms) to put their store to eternal rest? Not just in dollars and cents, but in broken dreams? And how many besides me will remember it ever existed? As for Synergy in Style, it had been around at least a few years, and so the reasons for its closure are less clear to me. But it was a nice enough store, with an above-average used-book selection, and it will be missed. As for the Robandee Market, I never set foot in it, I just drove past it once and felt compelled to take its picture. What was its story? How did it end? How long did it last? The business of America is business. And the end of a business is some kind of an American tragedy. #stores #closedstores #sictransitgloriamundi #defunct #vacant