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Author: James Snyder

The Marketing of Holidays: Descent into Weirdness

The Marketing of Holidays: Descent into Weirdness

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Well, we barely made it past Valentine’s Day (whose candies and trinkets appeared on shelves around December 26th) and if you’ve been out and about at any store, you’ll know that Easter must be right around the corner (FYI – this year Easter happens to coincide with April Fool’s Day [4/1/18], so don’t mix-and-match your holidays). Shelves at local grocery stores and retail locations are loaded with chocolate bunnies, chicks, colorful eggs, and bags full of various shades of plastic…

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Running a Successful Restaurant: Why It’s So Hard

Running a Successful Restaurant: Why It’s So Hard

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I talk often in this blog about the difficulties that local restaurants have in staying open in the four-state area.  Truth be told, the restaurant business is one of the toughest out there – no matter what the address, and most people just don’t realize what it takes to not only make a great restaurant, but what it requires day in and day out for it to remain successful. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve heard people…

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Hagerstown’s Food Scene: The Wheel of Restaurants

Hagerstown’s Food Scene: The Wheel of Restaurants

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As I have spoken about in previous posts, Hagerstown is a tough restaurant market.  Restauranteurs and corporations look at the I-70/I-81 interchange, run the numbers, and seem to come away with the impression that their concept just “can’t miss” in this area. If it were only that simple. Here in the dining trenches; however, it’s a different story.  If you are from anywhere in the four-state area, then you probably already know that locals want food they are familiar with,…

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Valentine’s Day: A Celebration or Obligation?

Valentine’s Day: A Celebration or Obligation?

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February 14th is fast approaching.  That’s right, boys and girls – Valentine’s Day.  Even though we know it today as a holiday created to celebrate love, originally it never had anything to do with hearts, chocolate, or red roses.  It was an observance named after Saint Valentine, a Roman priest who was killed in 269 A.D.  Originally, the day was noted more for martyrdom and death in the early Christian church rather than life and love[1].  In fact, there were…

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There’s a New Wal-Mart in Town – Better Get There Fast

There’s a New Wal-Mart in Town – Better Get There Fast

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This past Wednesday, Wal-Mart #2790 opened its doors just off of the Sharpsburg Pike in southeastern Hagerstown.  Now, if you know anything about Western Maryland, Hagerstown, or our other esteemed Wal-Mart location – the infamous Supercenter #1674 just off Garland Groh Boulevard in Hagerstown’s glorious west end (for those of you unfamiliar with that retail nirvana – read my previous article here), then I know that this news may bring up a few questions in your inquiring minds.  Fear not,…

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The Barbara Fritchie Restaurant: Gone But Not Forgotten

The Barbara Fritchie Restaurant: Gone But Not Forgotten

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Well, I suppose time takes its toll on all businesses, but I have to say that I was sad to see a local eatery icon, the Barbara Fritchie Restaurant – just outside of Frederick, Md – permanently shut its doors as of the first of this year. The restaurant had been serving customers in some form or fashion (and at various addresses) since 1910, and its familiar candy-cane sign was well known at its Route 40 location, just west of…

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The Lowly Chicken Wing: From Zero to Hero

The Lowly Chicken Wing: From Zero to Hero

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Chicken wings. These days almost as American as apple pie, the humble chicken wing has come a long way in the past thirty years.  Believe it or not, there was a time when butcher shops couldn’t give these things away, but those days are long gone.  Today, the price of wings is more expensive per pound than boneless, skinless chicken thighs – and about three times the price of bone-in, chicken leg quarters. Amazing. Every restaurant I visit seems to…

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2018: Thoughts on the New Year

2018: Thoughts on the New Year

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Well, the ball has dropped (or if you were in Hagerstown on New Year’s Eve, the doughnut was dunked), the Christmas clutter is slowly finding its way back into the attic, and the long (and recently quite cold) winter nights have me in deep thought about the New Year. As you may know, I turned fifty this past October, so that means that I probably have fewer years ahead of me than behind me (statistically speaking), so I find myself…

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The Mall Santa: A Tribute

The Mall Santa: A Tribute

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Since my holiday preparations are woefully behind this year, this past weekend I was forced to wade into the sea of humanity that is the holiday shopping crowd.  In my trip to the local mall – between a line at ‘Old Navy’ that literally snaked through the store and proof that yes, sometimes ‘Bath and Bodyworks’ is crowded – I took a few minutes to observe families take part in an annual holiday tradition that has been going on for…

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“Christmas in Clear Spring”: A Glimpse of What Could Be

“Christmas in Clear Spring”: A Glimpse of What Could Be

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This past Saturday night, a special celebration was held in the town where I live.  Called “Christmas in Clear Spring”, it was an evening of old-fashioned, small-town, holiday events (the town has population of only 399 people) that is held once every three years and put on by the local Garden Club. All of the local residents took special care putting up their Christmas lights this year (to help decorate for the event – plus there were prizes for the…

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