From Robert Whitcomb’s “Digital Diary,’’ in GoLocal24.com

Chris and Jennifer Daltry opened a store, What Cheer Records and Vintage, on Thayer Street, on Providence’s College Hill in June 2012. “here was a lot of optimism; there were still enough little independent places on the street,” Jennifer Daltry told The Brown Daily Herald’s Isabel Inadomi. But changes, such as tougher parking and a rent increase, led then to close in May 2017.

Chris Daltry noted: “This used to be a shopping district, and now it’s an eating district.’’ This is a situation replicated all over the country, as the Internet and big chains kill many small independently owned stores. It must be -- in general -- what the public wants, but it’s sad that we’re losing that local texture. Meanwhile, more than ever, people go out to eat.

To read Ms. Inadomi’s article, please hit this link.