Category Archives: US small business

Independent bookstores make quiet comeback as big chains dominate retail

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About 422 indie bookshops opened in 2025, up 31%, defying predictions of retail consolidation

For years now, we have heard that Amazon and the big chains are crushing small businesses, but independent bookstores are suddenly making a comeback.

About 422 new indie bookshops opened in 2025, according to the American Booksellers Association, a 31% rise from 2024. Countless independent restaurants, coffee shops, fitness centers, movie theaters, clothing stores and other small businesses also continue to thrive even in this era of ever-bigger retailers, fast-casual restaurants and massive e-commerce platforms.

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Taking over the family business? Expect less Hallmark, more stress

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Joining Mom and Dad can work as long as you know what you’re bringing – and what you’re giving up

It happens all the time. And not just in Hallmark movies.

The son or the daughter pooh-poohs their family business and moves away from the heartland to pursue their fortune in New York or Chicago. Then – penniless and more than a little hungover – they return to their home town, hat in hand.

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US restaurant workers are getting stiffed. It’s time for employers to pay up | Gene Marks

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The tipped wage scale allows restaurants to pay workers less than the legal minimum wage. Some unscrupulous owners nevertheless try to get away with paying even less

This may come as a shock to some but there’s a different minimum wage for restaurant employees than for workers in most other industries. In Pennsylvania, for example, that minimum wage is just $2.83 an hour.

Every statein the US has these “tipped wages”. According to minimumwage.org, the tipped wage is as little as $2.13 an hour in 19 states and as high as $10 in New York.

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