Winners and Losers

I suppose I really can’t say that this is about winners and losers although it does feel that way.

My dance life started many years ago at a Famous Franchise location. Just after OwnerGuy became OwnerGuy and opened his studio, a schism in the Famous Franchise world occurred and the guy who owned the location where we started took his three franchises out of the Famous Franchise world and went on his own.

Because there were stores in that particular strip mall that we liked, we drove by the place many times. We saw when they moved out of the original location and into another place in that same strip mall. Well, this weekend we were up there and there was a “for lease” sign where the dance studio used to be. A quick check of the website revealed that location had indeed closed.

Hard to say why. The neighborhood is still a fairly well to do suburb. But, like all big cities, the growth has continued outward and people love new things and this strip mall is a lot less shiny than it was all those years ago. Plus, the studio wasn’t visible from the main road and the place isn’t easy to get out of. Could be some of those factors or maybe none of them.

In the meantime, OwnerGuy’s place continues to be active. It seems like every day I go for lessons and see new faces. Just a bit north of the studio was a bunch of farmland that is quickly being turned into strip malls and housing areas. So it is probably in a better location for growth.

Whatever the reasons, one studio is thriving and one is no more.

Note that this end quote is not related to the story. I just found it interesting.