Where tax dollars are well spent

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My ViewPoint

Even though you’ll usually see me buzzing like a busy bee around the county all weekend covering events, this weekend I was away in San Antonio planning my wedding. My fiancé’s family is from West Texas, I’m from East Texas, so we figured the home of the Alamo would be the perfect halfway point for both.

The second largest city in Texas, according to the 2018 census, I often get commercials on cable television for San Antonio’s great tourism. I’m a very specific kind of tourist: the historical kind. You may be clued into that if you notice that I’m also the author of our paper’s “Historical Markers of Hopkins County” series. My husband-to-be, however, is more about a good meal and people-watching, so after we did a cursory look at the Alamo (Don’t worry, I’ve been there a ton of times.), we moseyed over to the Riverwalk. I’ve also been there a lot of times, and it’s always full of people. Obviously. It’s one of the biggest tourist attractions in the city. My fiancé had apparently never been there before, at least not on a summer Saturday night. Not only was he taken aback with how many people packed the sidewalk, he was also disenfranchised with the number of franchises that take up the river real estate “This is nothing like Sulphur Springs,” he exclaimed.

From a city government point, I know Sulphur Springs wouldn’t turn their noses up if a Rainforest Cafe wanted to relocate downtown. However, the main difference my fiancé pointed out is that money spent on the San Antonio riverwalk doesn’t stay in San Antonio.

Rainforest Cafe is at least headquartered in Texas (in Houston). But other riverwalk franchises pack up their dollars to other states. Harley Davidson, is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Wyndham hotels are headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, and Hyatt hotels are headquartered in Chicago.

A page put out by 7-11 even states that the riverwalk is “perfect” for franchises because of its proven track record and large military base nearby.

Don’t get me wrong, franchises can are great. I think I eat at Taco Bell three times a week. My family leased the land to put the first Dairy Queen in Sulphur Springs way back in the day. But by using franchising for tourism, a lot of individuality gets wiped away.

So to answer my fiancé’s question: no, San Antonio isn’t anything like Sulphur Springs. Sulphur Springs has unique businesses that are singular to our community and are often owned by members of our community. They care if the business thrives or doesn’t. The city spends tax dollars to maintain properties, but the tax dollars go right back into the community, not to some other state. Often even Sulphur Springs franchise owners are locals.

There are advantages to living in a city, but this weekend I found out variety in where to enjoy a cocktail isn’t necessarily one of them.