It’s nice to see that some things never change. Small towns around the South are my favorite places to visit. Most keep their small-town appetites, with some restaurants moving in, but you don’t see the chains like you do in the bigger cities.

Take my own Soddy-Daisy, for instance. We passed liquor-by-the-drink laws a couple years back, but to date, no large chain like Chili’s or Applebee’s has, of yet, even broken ground. Though it didn’t take long for Charlie’s bar to take advantage of the law. Blue Ribbon has reopened, but just two nights a week for dinner and two days a week for lunch. Flavors of Italy is pulling folks in from all around.

Large chains, stay away from my little piece of paradise.