Unchained

I'll be the first to admit, I've traded some of the uniqueness of the beach cities for suburban comfort and affordablity. I can't imagine a chain of national anything that has not set up shop here in Round Rock. You can basically sample any franchise opportunity you might think of investing in.

But that's not necessarily Austin. "Keep Austin Weird" is the city's motto. Round Rock's is "Purpose, Passion, Prosperity". The latter sounds like something announced after a corporate reorganization. I hardly believe we're ever going to hear "Keep IBM Weird".

Every city has it's local treasures. I believe you can still be a unique and local even with more then one location. I'm in love with Alamo Drafthouse. The concept behind this local theater chain is eating dinner and drinking while watching a movie at the same time. You may scratch your head, but this concept works amazingly well. Along with first run cinema, several unique theme nights are on the calender. Check it out at www.alamodrafthouse.com

I ate at Thundercloud Subs today after Baxter went to the park. The location on Lake Austin Blvd is in an old house, not a strip mall. The other night friends took me out to Amy's Ice Cream down by the UT campus. It was as eclectic and unique as I expected being near the UT campus. As we headed home, we passed a Cold Stone Creamery that had closed it's doors. It was sad to see a franchise business close as I'm sure someone had high hopes for it and they are usually owned by small business people.

But the old adage rings true. Location, location, location.

We have one open in Round Rock.