Over the past year, the cities of Colleyville and Southlake have attracted several chain businesses but not so many one-of-a-kind, mom and pop stores.

Economic officials say the increase in national franchises is forcing locally owned businesses to sink or swim in a rapidly changing market.

In Colleyville, chains such as Teriyaki Madness, Zoës Kitchen and Black Walnut Café opened, and local restaurant Sonsie House Kitchen closed this year after only being open for several months. Southlake, which has attracted Z Gallerie, BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse and a host of other restaurants and retail stores, has also seen local store closures.

Cooper and Stebbins President Frank Bliss, who helped found Southlake Town Square, said local mom and pop stores often close because they have a hard time competing against the chains.

“If a local mom and pop store has the same exact product as a chain store; it’s going to be hard for them to compete,” he said. “The [chain] is going to blow the [local store] out of the water because they can’t compete with the pricing that the [chain] is going to offer.”

Mark Wood, Colleyville economic development and communications executive director, said often mom and pop stores do not have enough money for marketing compared to chains.

“The retail and restaurant business is just hard,” he said. “National chains or brands have a lot of marketing dollars behind them. They have national ads and websites where you can search for locations, but mom and pops don’t necessarily have that. So I think getting the message out is more difficult [for small businesses].”

Wood said the stores that are most likely to succeed against bigger brands are the business owners that find a way to market their store.

“The most successful are the ones that get the message out—build brand awareness—which is hard when you don’t have the millions of dollars for marketing like national chains,” he said.

Finding a niche

For all the struggles, there are many small Colleyville and Southlake businesses that have survived and even thrived for years among strong competition, Bliss said.

The keys to success vary by owner and industry, yet the operators of these mom and pop shops continually cite one factor that differentiates them from the competition: customer service.

An example of that is Pure Cafe, which has been open for five years in Southlake Town Square and sells salads, sandwiches and juice.

Pure Cafe co-owner Faruk Oz said although there is a Jamba Juice store not far from his business in Town Square, he is able to compete with it because of his customer service.

“People are looking for the best quality not only in their food, and drinks, but in customer service, and that’s what we are providing to them,” he said. “Most chains won’t take the time out to get to know their customers, and that’s where local mom and pops beat chains every time.”

But even strong service is not always enough to overcome lower prices, which is why Grapevine Chamber of Commerce CEO Radonna Hessel said local mom and pops should offer something unique.

“In our society we are based on competition,” she said. “Competition either defeats us or makes us better, and I think for a lot of small businesses it’s finding that niche. There are some that are really good at that niche marketing—you can’t find their product in other places. What any good retailer will do is find the focus of their product or product line and do it to the best of their ability. And it’s all about good customer service and knowing your clients. If you have somebody who thinks, ‘I’ll open my door and [customers] will come in and they will buy,’ then they are setting themselves up for failure.”

Investing in local businesses

Hessel said neighboring city Grapevine has found a way to make sure both chains and mom and pops are successful in the city.

“I think here what you see are businesses that are on the same street that may sell a similar type of product but work together, market together, promote together and help each other,” she said. “I think what’s interesting in Grapevine is that we do have a lot of big boxes, but our big boxes appreciate the mom and pops as well.”

Economic incentives often help cities attract big-box retailers, but smaller local stores typically are not afforded the same financial perks. However, Hessel said Grapevine invests in its locally owned businesses.

“I think part of the reason why our mom and pops have been successful, particularly on Main Street, is because our city invests in them by doing things such as bringing festivals on Main Street,” she said. “You have some cities that will look at private-sector businesses as they succeed or fail on their own. They will be like ‘It’s a private business, so why would the city assist with it?’ I think Grapevine 30 or 40 years ago recognized the importance of preserving the history that was [on Main Street] and preserving the quality and the community feel that was there.”

Wood, who was hired by Colleyville earlier this year, said he hopes to create a culture in Colleyville that will help mom and pops.

“I think if we can create a culture in Colleyville supporting local businesses, that would be really positive,” he said. “One of my items on my to-do list is establishing a relationship with the chamber and partnering up with them to create that culture.”