The Vivian and Ben in this story are Vivian Howard and her hubby Ben Knight from PBS' "A Chefs Life" Vivian and Ben worked in NYC restaurants until her pig farming parents offered to pay for them to start a restaurant in run down Kinston NC. Its an innovative restaurant and has revitalized Kinston and raised it up
When people live in run down poverty stricken areas they tend to be cloistered and never leave a 20 mile radius of their homes, and they don't have friends through out the country or world. This leaves them unable to see that the rest of the country is doing well.
Because of that they tend to think the rest of the country is just like them and everything is DOOM and GLOOM. This is especially evident in very rural areas where manufacturing jobs have disappeared.
For places who haven't seen any growth in decades AND have seen population decline (IE tax base dropping) there doesn't seem to be a way out. Every family that moves away, their dollars and taxes go with them and that defunds schools and public works. So if education drops, all the people have for jobs is rural industries and manual labor that is more and more scarce to come by. They fare horribly in economic down turns and get jaded.
Meanwhile in the populated areas, most of the time, things are going well. Public works and education is better funded. They usually do well in economic down turns.
However, everything is cyclical in the populated areas. I look at cities and populated areas as Pizza places. A new pizza place is SUPER POPULAR and pulls people in, but after a few years if they don't keep it fresh and new, they decline and people turn away.
In Philadelphia we have a magazine called Philly Magazine (shocking name huh?) They have a yearly Best Of Philly issue. They hand out placards to that years BEST winners.
Ive driven past pizza places that still have their Best of 1995 placard in the window and its faded and literally NO ONE is in the store eating at noon, but they still think they are THE BEST! The reason no one is eating there anymore is because along the way they either got greedy and started using lower quality ingredients or didn't add anything new and fresh...
For years Philly was called a shithole, but that's changed and people have worked hard to bring it up and revitalize it and Philly and the surrounding areas are doing very well...Its even rubbed off on Camden, NJ. So much growth, jobs and interest.
PHILLY is in a cyclical upswing.
Atlantic City used to be a jewel of a city. but they failed to plan for "what ifs"! That "What If" came when Pennsylvania got Casino licenses and people didn't wanna drive out to A/C for a few drinks, entertainment and to pull a lever...But it started YEARS before... A/C lost the heart of A/C when it just catered to ADULTS. They got rid of what made A/C, A/C... The Steel Pier, Tchotchkis, Mr Peanut, KIDS!!!!!!!!!! Now they don't know who they are.
Detroit lost its way for a little while but now its on an upswing...
The US Govt sends refugees to blighted areas because they recognize the value Refugees bring. For example, Syrian refugees are middle class and educated. They revitalize blighted areas cause of their work ethic and the fact that they will open their own businesses so they can have their own food, clothes and spiritual items, bringing fresh paint to an area.
This is what is happening to Detroit, Michigan. They are shipping Refugees to blighted areas and they are opening up their own ethnic businesses and demanding better schools, driving money and interest up and revitalizing Detroit slowly. Shinola, an old shoeshine company that went out of business, is back in Detroit selling and manufacturing high end leather goods.
To speak on keeping a business and thus an area "fresh" and lucrative...
In Shenandoah, Pa a small family owned Polish Pieroghi maker "Mrs T's Pieroghi's" was slowing down in the 1980's due to lagging sales and boredom.
ALL THAT DOUGH/CARBS! OY!
Hispanic Immigrants suggested a Jalapeno and cheese version, Italians wanted Basil and tomato and Greeks wanted Feta and spinach and EVERYONE wanted BACON.
IMMIGRANT suggestions increased sales and now they have 2 factories and have increased employment in 2 areas. YAY!
All of this is why Vivian and Ben's success in Kinston is working. Vivian was from the country, she knew what it was about, but going to NYC with Ben for awhile allowed her to uplift and freshen up southern cooking and sell it back to them and thus the entire area is looking at new fresh ways to do business and its working...
Old ways are worth keeping, but new ways add interest and keep things fresh...
All little struggling towns can learn a great deal from the example of Vivian and Ben and Kinston...
Both the big city, the small rural town and immigrants/refugees and natives can all learn from each other and pull each other up.
Things always work better with teamwork and innovation.
As Larry King says "Just my 2 cents"
(Note: this was written in the early 2000s)
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