Feeding the masses

We stopped in for a quick lunch at this bakery on our weekend trip. There had to be at least one hundred people in there. The place was huge, 4 cashiers - each with a small line, LCD monitors for order taking and processing everywhere, every table in the place taken, even the outdoor seating.


My sandwich came wrapped in this logo emblazoned wrapper:


with this custom logo'd bag of chips,


with this cookie in it's custom packaging,


in this appropriately marked paper bag,


with a double americano in this properly marked cup,


with it's matching coffee cozy,

from this properly advertised establishment.

I try to stay away from places like this, and would rather seek out a hole in the wall place without the corporate budget for so much advertising. So being affronted with an operation of this scale automatically put me on the defensive. I really tried to find something wrong with the place, but the service was quick and friendly, the bread was decent, jeni said the cookie was good, the coffee was good, my sandwich was good although on the meaty side; even the pickle on the side wasn't bad, and I'm almost as critical of pickles as bread.


And then it occurred to me that the future might not be so bleak. I cringe every time I have to witness another suburbian mass-produced product or service. I've not stepped foot into a charbucks for years. But then sometimes I'm reminded that the majority of our population does live in suburbia, and it can be done right. There will always be a difference between the cozy inner city bakery and the large scale chains, but as suburbian growth continues, it's comforting to know that the quality of the food we eat doesn't automatically have to suck.