What do you think of when you read the words... STRIP MALL?
Firstly, there's no stripping. No pole dancing. No one dollar bills.
Secondly, they're everywhere and form the backbone of Main Street - the small mom-and-pop businesses that underpin American capitalism.
The rows of grubby one-story shops occupy a slice of real estate along side main roads and intersections. We have a bunch littered around us. Odd places, but filled with fascinating slices of Americana.
In just about every strip mall, even if they're near each other, there is nail salon run by a phalanx of Vietnamese, an eyelash extension shop run by an African-American woman in sequins and a Chinese dry cleaner. Fast food chains are hard to avoid but but if you trust the locals you'll find some of the best places for Ho Chin Minh City pho, Mexican burritos or Korean hotpot.
Stores and restaurants in strip malls are not fancy. Mostly rundown. Often near a Dollar Store or charity shop.
You have got to know where the gems are.
Hiding in plain sight, in a nondescript plaza near us, is a legendary drinking hole.
It's modeled after Cheers, the bar in the TV series, where everybody knows your name
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More about Robyn's public speaking
Robyn Curnow is a sought-after public speaker on what it takes to create positive leadership in complicated times. As a South African now living in the American South, Robyn is determined to bring a hopeful and light-hearted tone to all conversations.
She reflects on her interviews with U.S. Presidents Bush, Clinton and Carter and First Lady Michelle Obama. She has impactful stories of working alongside Nobel Peace Prize Lauretes Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu
She has delivered talks and hosted events around the Blue Economy in the Principality of Monaco where she introduced Prince Albert of Monaco and Prince William, Prince of Wales and French President Emmanuel Macron, the Lincoln Centre in New York, the Science Museum in London, the Swedish Royal Palace in Stockholm, the YPO annual conference in Cape Town, the United Nations, a Haaretz newspaper panel in Jerusalem, the Nantucket Yacht club and many more.
She has recently worked with Prince Albert II Foundation in Monaco and Philadelphia, the Swedish royal family in Stockholm, Made by Dyslexia in London, the Red Cross of Georgia in Atlanta alongside Delta Airlines.
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