The Rutherford County Habitat for Humanity put on another successful Cookin’ to Build soup event on the Square—delicious soups, fun times and a good cause.
This editor gives honorable mentions to the Oakland Archery cooking team for their delicious tomato basil soup, as well as their tasty, herby grilled cheese accompaniments, to County Clerk Lisa Duke Crowell for her buffalo chicken soup topped with blue cheese crumbles, and to the Breakfast Rotary Club for one of my personal favorites of the many chilis represented there, their well-seasoned Rotary Firehall Chili blending a beef and turkey combo with some Rotel.
The restaurant turnover in this town remains high. New ones continue to open in Murfreesboro, but it seems like the area has reached the saturation point where for every new one that arrives, an existing one leaves. With the cost of dining out continuing to rise, and the high level of competition in the industry, it’s just hard to squeeze all of these new ones into the market without kicking others out.
Many of the ones that do not make it, though, appear to have displayed halfhearted commitments to customer service, food quality, keeping price points reasonable, creativity, advertising, speed, friendliness, cleanliness, using healthy and natural ingredients, the entertainment factor, ambiance and/or creative marketing and branding.
Come on—get some of those right! At least a few of those, anyway, if you want to compete in the crowded restaurant industry.
Not every single restaurant has to excel at every single one of the elements to survive; you don’t have to check all of the boxes, but good gracious, why would anyone go and spend money at an establishment where the staff acts like they don’t want to be there, the prices are inflated, the wait time is long, the food is inconsistent and the tables are dirty when there’s hundreds of other spots to choose from, some of which demonstrate some level of commitment to excellence?
Enjoy yet another edition of the Murfreesboro Pulse. Let’s make sure the current copies get into the hands of readers, but know that many of the old copies of the paper go to good uses, too (Mr. Ferret be peein’! He needs to keep his cage liner fresh).
Explore the Murfreesboro Greenway. What’s your favorite area? For which activities do you most enjoy using the Greenway? Jogging, fishing, bird watching. kayaking? Some business professionals like to schedule walking meetings, when possible, rather than simply sitting in the office for discussions that could be combined with a walk, getting some fresh air and exercise while exploring business opportunities. Multitasking!
It’s cool to be able to tell the story of Chief Black Fox within this issue. I will have to explore his area soon. I have still never been to the Black Fox Spring and surrounding trails there.
We encourage you to look up at the sky. Compare the trails you observe coming from jets to the ones that remain there for hours. Read more about Tennessee banning the release of chemicals into the airspace above the state in this edition as well.
It looks like just about every weekend from now until Christmas will have a holiday market or craft fair in the Murfreesboro area. Check out these local events and vendors as you are doing your holiday shopping.
But definitely do enjoy what you already have during this month of thanks. Remain grateful. I love the Thanksgiving season and the reminder to appreciate your life, liberty, property, family, friends, experiences, health and comfort. Counting your blessings is good for the mind and soul all through the year.
If you struggle to find something to be thankful for, but have not lost anyone close to you recently and have your physical health for the most part, there are a couple of things to begin with.
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)
