Black Friday 2019 aka Support Your Local Businesses

My Black Friday, 2019.
I began the day online shopping. Returned to an old e-commerce retailer that started in 1977. It's also where I began my first full-time job in San Francisco. If you know me well or follow my blog, you already know this company.

The Sharper Image.

The visit to my former employer began after seeing too many pictures of myself from our cruise vacation last week. I noticed the spare tire in my mid-section in too many photos. Time to tone up. Bowling does a great job on my lower body strength, but need toning upper body and waist. No gym. Low impact. Something I can do at home.

Decided to get a portable rower.

source: Sharper Image
portable rowing machine

Compact, sturdy, simple, low impact. I can do it while watching TV.  Point, scan, and click. Done.

All that browsing made me hungry. Time for lunch.

My original Thanksgiving plans fell through due to a family emergency of the friend who was hosting dinner. Instead of turkey, it was takeout Thai, Lindt chocolates, bowling practice, and lots of catching up on TV I missed while on vacation. Hunger and withdrawal symptoms of no turkey were setting in. Need turkey now.

Jump in the car and head to Redwood City to my favorite place for carved turkey, Harry's Hofbrau. Locally owned. Harry's formerly had locations in Foster City/San Mateo and San Jose. When I worked in Foster City from 1999 to 2007, I must have visited that location at least once a month. Always got turkey. Either as a carved sandwich with dipped wheat roll, turkey dinner, or A La King style (cream sauce with rice).

When I got to the restaurant, I was pleasantly surprised to see a line and hear almost everyone order a turkey dinner or sandwich. The day after Thanksgiving. Realized many in line were probably in the same situation. They craved for carved turkey. I opted for the Turkey A La King. Happy tummy.

Now, off to another locally owned business in Redwood City, Hoot Judkins Furniture. Opened in 1962, it is one of the few remaining family and locally owned furniture stores in the San Francisco Bay Area. I’ve been an admirer of their dining furniture for several years. It started not long after I sold my dining set when I moved out of the Outer Sunset house I rented from Kevin from 2011 to 2014.

HJ’s way of doing business is very retro. All furniture is real wood. No particle board or veneer. Sales staff don't work on commission. No high pressure sales tactics. They know buyers are going to make expensive purchases, so giving people like me time to decide is more likely to result in a sale.

I left the store 2 hours later as the soon-to-be owner of a new dining table and chairs that I'll get in about 4 to 6 weeks. As part of the Black Friday special, they paid my sales tax. It'll be well worth the wait. My dining table has a butterfly leaf that opens with a built in gear that requires little to no effort to expand the table. The chairs have reinforcements between the legs.

source: Hoot Judkins

You can buy a similar table and chairs for about the same price on Wayfair or Overstock. And you'll get it within 2 weeks. But you'll get it in boxes and delivered curbside. I'll get mine delivered inside and fully assembled.

My small contribution to small businesses. With outstanding service and value to boot.

The Picture People - Out of Business

Picture People, Foster City, Californa
October 1, 2001 to September 20, 2007

On Thursday, May 18, my former employer, TPP Holdings DBA The Picture People closed doors permanently.

While it's sad, it did not come as a surprise to many of us who were once employed there. I was separated from Picture People in September 2007 when headquarters moved from Foster City, California to Plano, Texas.

Like my other former employer, The Sharper Image (see blog post November 18, 2017), shut down business operations in 2008. There have several relaunches beginning in 2010, the latest is through Camelot Venture Group in April 2018.

With the recent store closings for Macy's and Sears, traditional retail in malls as we once knew it has changed. It's looking more like a future destination to the mall won't just be for shopping or the movies.

Other than my two rounds of four-year employment with Sharper Image, my six years of continuous employment with Picture People is the longest I've worked anywhere. As it usually is in retail, turnover is frequent. So when one stays for at least three years, he/she would be considered an old-timer. Bonds form and cement into lifelong friendships.

Alumni from Sharper Image recently announced plans for a second reunion this fall. Picture People from the Foster City headquarters held a reunion in March 2014.

It's my hope that those who suddenly lost their jobs will receive some kind of employment assistance.

Return of The Sharper Image

source: Wikipedia

After a 9-year absence, high-tech gadget/lifestyle retailer The Sharper Image, which opened in 1977 and closed in 2008, returned from the dead with a new store (now owned by Camelot Venture Group) in New York's Times Square.

For me, The Sharper Image meant a lot more. It was my first full-time employer and my first job when I moved to San Francisco in 1983.

The experience gained from my 8 years there set the foundation for my current career - a mix of finance, operations, asset protection and customer service.

Today was particularly bittersweet for 2 reasons:
1. Birthday of a longtime friend who didn't work for The Sharper Image, but worked as a vendor contact to another friend/former colleague/ex-boss.
2. Berkeley visit to see former colleagues who are mother and daughter. The daughter hired me and was my first boss.

Reason #2 is why this Thanksgiving week will be difficult.
The mother is now in hospice care in her Berkeley apartment. The same Berkeley apartment where I met her for many Saturday lunches and was my Thanksgiving dinner destination for 8 years.

After a 20+ years absence, I'll come back to where it all started.